120°

Kinect Will Read Sign Language, Paving Way For New Input Methods

It's not just your clumsy leg-kicks that Kinect will understand, with a newly-discovered patent showing that it's actually capable of understanding American Sign Language, or ASL. Is this another way to input text to the game?

dizzleK5427d ago

but will it detect gang signs? picture that in something like gta or saints row.

R2D25427d ago

Rumors has it that it was to be used in HL2 EP3.

D4RkNIKON5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

I am pretty sure that deaf kids can type...

Trebius5427d ago

So that's actually very interesting to me, i'd like to see if it works.

And yes, the Deaf can type.

Cloudberry5424d ago

.
I...

Actually have an idea about Kinect with sign language + a hardcore game, for an example an FPS.

Let's say, it's a regular FPS game but also with Kinect compatibility, although it's not an actual non-controller game-play from Kinect to the (FPS) game, instead using Kinect for the sign language of that game.

This simple sign languages that use our hands for example :

"THUMBS UP" : the FPS character would do a thumbs up for others for their good job.

"FINGER POINTING" : the character would point which they would go, could also be used in co-op / whatever.

"BARE KNUCKLE" : I don't know about this one... When someone's angry I think? Lol.

Etc.

But finally the most popular sign language of them all :

"MIDDLE FINGER" : pissed at those spammers, campers, & hackers? Give em one.

The "middle finger" sign language if it's implemented in Kinect would be the killer app for hardcore gamers lol, in my opinion of course.

.........

Then again...

If we could use this sign languages while sitting + with Kinect, would be good.

Otherwise...

Playing with the controller while sitting comfy on a couch & stand up just to point a middle finger in front of the TV seems tedious... : /

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5424d ago
Christopher5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

The more work the software has to do to interpret smaller body parts performing more intricate actions, the more lag that will result from such computations. We're talking an exponential leap in it, at that.

Signing is also an element that has its own tones based on depth placement of your hands and speed at which one signs specific elements.

dkgshiz5427d ago

Then I would make fun of them.

Bigpappy5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

It must read fingers to do this. M$ has a lot to implementations it has not revealed yet. When they focus on upper body only, they will be able to do apps much closer to the screen and focus on finger movement.

I have seen the tech work with simpler web cams with gesture software.

Redgehammer5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

http://appft.uspto.gov/neta...

The link is to the United States patent apllication seems really interesting interesting to me.
I honestly think Kinect, even if it wobbles a little at the start, when released will truly evolve into something quite remarkable.

bjornbear5427d ago

mutes can pwn anyone just as hard as the next great gamer.

this is standard. if kinect alienated those people then there would be cause for surprise.

morganfell5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

Your remarks are one of two reasons this ASL capture claim is suspect. The camera must read fingers. The best full body lotion capture equipment doesn't read fingers. It barely reads wrist position and that often has to be adjusted during the post animation cleanup process.

Custom finger capture MOCAP is one thing but you do not get this with even the most advanced full body capture rigs such as Xsens.

It isn't just the fingers but very intricate and subtle gestures that Kinect has shown thus far it cannot capture or recognize.

This video is suiting as it was included as a track on the making of HALO 2 video included on the HALO 2 Collector's Edition Bonus Disk.

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

The singing is at a slower than normal conversation pace and fortunately has repetitious signing. Now look at normal paced signing in this storytelling of Batman:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

There have been animated stories produced in sign but these are custom animations created by hand in Maya and Max rather than MOCAPed work.

Remember, filing a patent application does not require the ability for filer to actually be able to demonstrate the idea, method, or equipment functions properly.

The second reason this story is suspect is Gizmodo, part of the Kotaku network is reporting it.

Christopher5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

1. Probably one of the few times you'll see me say this, but morganfell makes some good points.

2. For regular, conversational signing, I would use this as a basis rather than the dramatic signing of the batman movie you posted above, which had a lot of overly exaggerated body movement with it:

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Bigpappy5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

It proves or disproves nothing. I have seen no proof for either side. So all I can do at this point is put it in the rumor column and see if it materialize or dies.

I would just add that the Z-cam which M$ bought already has shown it could read fingers and they were not the only ones to do this.

Have a look:
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

morganfell5427d ago

You are missing the point. Z-cam handles very slow hand gesture but not in conjunction with full body MOCAP. Current tech is at the pick one or the other stage...even with systems that run in the hundred grand range. Our two Xsens suits and system were $114K. Incredible cameraless MOCAP but without precision capture of fingers and such as I discussed above.

If you want to believe you will get all of that, full body and precision capture of finger motions at the same time, for $149 then that is certainly your right to believe such.

morganfell5427d ago

Also cd, I think you will see plenty of what you refer to as exaggeration in the link you posted as well. But if you are around people signing when they are in a casual atmosphere, such animated signing is the norm rather than the exception. People do not sign the same manner in a casual conversation with a friend as they do at a business meeting. By it's very nature signing tends to be more animated in such situations as more of the body is involved versus audible communication.

Bigpappy5427d ago (Edited 5427d ago )

I have no idea about mocap tech. I am only referencing what I have seen and read regarding gesture controls. I don't know how fast a person will have to sign in order for another person to interpret the sign correctly and how that will translate to software. I just relayed the facts as I know them. As I said, M$ said it can be done, you said you are skeptical and gave your reasoning. I accept your view but I am skeptical of your view also, as I know for a fact that people have been working in this area for a while. While I have nothing to say that it works well, I have seen tech advance rather quickly when there are many people competing and there is a lot of money to be made. That is what we have here. I do hear your side but I will keep and open mind. Thats for the civil discussion and your input.

Makidian5427d ago

You are absolutely correct since a picture is not anywhere near indicative of it actually working. Gizmodo is almost always laying down unsubstantiated claims about things and hyping fallacy. One day it might work but i seriously doubt Kinect will be able to accurately translate sign language in any form when it comes out. Kinect 3.0 maybe, Kinect 1.0 absolutely not going to happen.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 5427d ago
btk5426d ago

Well - I was going to write a long reply to Bigpappy on this one - but seems like Morganfell already covered all the points.

No Bigpappy - no secret thing is going to pop out at the last minute that will transform Kinect into a device that will read the slightest movement on your little finger and the rest of your body and send it at the speed of a controller with no lag. You are grasping at straws. Just check the technical specs - take a sequence of photos at 640x480 - add some blurriness to it - because that is the quality that Kinect will get - and try and get some good info on digits from it. Now try that for group photos. You know what? Not enough info. Get realistic. If MS is getting you to believe this - then they are taking you for a ride.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 5426d ago
big_silky5427d ago

This could certainly be useful for gamers who are deaf or have severe speech impediments when games start adding in voice recognition and the like.

ndibu5427d ago

Accessibility for all...no wait, this is Kinect.
This changes everything for EVERYBODY...no thats not right either...
Jump In...SIGN(language) UP...yeah? Yeah?

shoddy5427d ago

Maybe they will create games teach kids to count with thier fingers.

D4RkNIKON5427d ago

Yeah, deaf people can type so it doesn't really make a difference..

Show all comments (43)
20°

Joy Ride Turbo - The Beginning of the End for Xbox Kinect

Joy Ride Turbo launched 10 years ago today. The first title was Xbox Kinect exclusive, yet this sequel failed to support the device at all.

300°

10 of the Biggest Video Game Hardware Failures Ever

Cultured Vultures: "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal, and no matter how much developers might try, some gaming hardware just fails to hit the mark. We’ve compiled a list of 10 gaming hardware fails, and boy did some fail hard."

Read Full Story >>
culturedvultures.com
Knightofelemia1241d ago

I would label the Power Glove, Kinect, and that Tony Hawk skateboard more as hardware addons hardware failure would be like the Virtual Boy and one day Stadia.

Magog1240d ago

Kinect was bundled with every Xbox One and inflated the price on an already underpowered and low RAM machine so for the One it wasn't an accessory as much as a white elephant.

CaptainHenry9161240d ago (Edited 1240d ago )

Definitely the RROD but that power glove had a lot of issues as well. The Kinect just didn't work

1240d ago
CrimsonWing691240d ago

Hardware add-ons are more like RAM or a video card, basically components that enhance capabilities or performance of the computer.

If you really want to get technical the Kinect is more of a peripheral device, kind of like a keyboard or mouse to a computer.

ThatsGaming1240d ago

The person in this article obviously is not up on their gaming history....

Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast, Coleco Gemini, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga, Atari 5200, Atari 7800 were all massive failures and in most cases cost their companies participating in future gaming generations.

Gamer791240d ago

Sega saturn (successful in Japan) and dreamcast were not failures.
Seems like you're not up on you're gaming history

septemberindecember1240d ago

@Gamer79

How in the world are the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast not seen as failures? They both sold around 8M each, which is much lower than the ~30M that the Genesis had sold before it, and even the Master System before that. They were both the worst selling consoles in their respective generation (PS1, N64 outsold Saturn, PS2, GC, and Xbox outsold Dreamcast). Both of the consoles were incredibly short lived. The Saturn was discontinued in every territory but Japan after just three years. In Japan the console was discontinued after six years. Meanwhile the Dreamcast was discontinued worldwide in 2001 after launching in most territories in 1999 and in Japan in 1998. The failure of the Saturn and Dreamcast lead to Sega pulling out of the hardware market. Which, by the way, all of this occurred when Sega was massively dropping the price of their consoles quickly to compete. Sega was hemorrhaging money at this point.

None of this indicates a successful console. Saying the Saturn was a success because it did better in Japan is like saying the Vita is a success (they both sold around the same amount of units in Japan). Even the Wii U outsold these consoles worldwide.

Magog1240d ago

The picture should be the 360 RROD. When I think of gaming hardware failures that's what springs to mind. Kinect and it's bundled price tag definitely hobbled the already underpowered Xbox One though for sure so I would give it a close second place.

porkChop1240d ago (Edited 1240d ago )

That's not what the author means by failures. It's about hardware that failed in terms of sales (Wii U) or just failed to deliver on its promise (Kinect).

Magog1240d ago (Edited 1240d ago )

Given that the 360 had a year head start, much easier hardware to develop for, was cheaper, and still ended up in third place I think it qualifies especially when you factor in the frustration and huge losses incurred by RROD.

porkChop1240d ago

Selling over 80 million consoles isn't a sales flop. We get it, you don't like Xbox, but that doesn't mean the 360 is suddenly a failure.

Rhythmattic1240d ago

Porky....
You know how many people I know bought a 2nd or third 360 due to RROD? Even when MS had to confront the issue with replacement systems, my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in, and waiting for a replacement.,,..,..
If that's how you consider it a win... OK.. but so is having 5 , of which 3 don't function.... Its a win win....mwhahahahaha

porkChop1240d ago

"my mates couldn't wait for even the turnaround of sending it in"

You're acting like it would take months. When I sent my 360 in I got a new one literally 5 days later. As soon as MS had tracking confirmation that you sent yours, they'd send a new one to you the same day. No one is going to spend hundreds to buy a new console instead of waiting a week. I swear you guys pull some of the dumbest shit out of nowhere and think people will actually believe it.

Regardless, none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about.

Rhythmattic1239d ago (Edited 1239d ago )

Porky
"You're acting like it would take months"
Sometimes it could.. FFS.. 'Strya here...
Best turnaround I reckon was 2-3 weeks.....
Either way, My mates experiences still exist.. So Sorry, no point trying to earn Xbox Achievements when it doesn't feature in what was a situation you never dealt with,,,,
3 of my friends would disagree (overall, 10 extra Xboxes purchased)
Regardless.. MS sold a lot of 360's that was due to this reason.. That is sales. Fact

"none of this changes the fact that this isn't what the article is even about."
Headline says HELLO !
Oh and "Sadly, not all hardware is created equal," that's enough to pass this on without taking your article bias into consideration.....
As for the rest.... Ok.. But you've actually gone out of your way to give MS a Pass... Fap on.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1239d ago
Aloymetal1240d ago (Edited 1240d ago )

Yup, and because of that big fiasco MS had to fork out 1 billion but knowing them I think they're very proud of the 360, it's the only time a MS console reached 80mil+ sales, RROD played a big part of that and a record they will never break again.

Rhythmattic1240d ago (Edited 1240d ago )

So true.. Even when MS accepted they where caught out in the biggest lie of any generation, The wait for a replacement was outweighed by just buying another, and having one be returned as a backup, which, btw, generally failed on first swap.
I own honestly can't believe MS tards are just supporting , or arguing why and what MS did by just dismissing it....

lonewolf101240d ago

Lol I had the Atari Jaguar, surprised its "competition" the 3DO isn't on the list too, both as "popular" as each other.

SullysCigar1240d ago

Lol same. Played the crap out of Aliens Vs Predator and Tempest 2000 .... aaand that's about it really!!

lonewolf101240d ago

Sad but true that was pretty much it.

Kurt Russell1240d ago

Agreed, I never actually saw a 3DO make it to retailers in the UK. At least the Atari Jaguar was sold for around 6 months.

lonewolf101240d ago

It made it to some my brother got one, fared just as well as the Jaguar so most probably hard to find in general.

darthv721240d ago

3do had way better games. Jaguar not so much. Neo Geo sold less than both and yet isnt considered a failure. Go figure.

LWOGaming1240d ago

Stadia is a weird one. It hasn’t sold at all well but in terms of how it works it’s still miles ahead of Xcloud in terms of stability and performance. Xcloud is still a way behind and that needs sorting but it will be in time. Stadia for me is one of those things that will go down as a what could have been moments. With better marketing it could have been a roaring success. I still play it and it remains the best place in my opinion to play CyberPunk 2077. Only platform I have played it on without having any issues at all. The tech is great. The concept is fine. Marketing terrible. Shame really.

Magog1240d ago

The sales model was awful. They should have teamed with an existing player to allow for local and cloud access to games or a gaming subscription service.

LWOGaming1240d ago

It was a strange mess from such a huge company, as I said, as a system it works really well but without gamers it’s nothing. Such a waste,

LWOGaming1240d ago

The Xbox One was Microsoft’s Nintendo Wii U. Undercooked, undersold and just an unholy mess. The thing is with any of these failures is to learn from them and thankfully both Nintendo and Xbox did just that to the benefit of gamers everywhere.

Show all comments (39)
120°

Pivotal Decisions in Gaming History - Xbox Goes All-In on Kinect

Xbox 360's Kinect had flopped yet Microsoft insisted on mandatory Kinect for Xbox One, driving the price up and alienating their potential customers.

Read Full Story >>
techstomper.com
darthv721417d ago

the tech was pretty damn good but their focus on making it the centerpiece was not. Had they opted to keep it as a secondary or even tertiary device, it may have found new use for AR/VR.

PrimeVinister1417d ago

Maybe. But they were two early for VR and too late for motion control

1417d ago Replies(2)
Godmars2901417d ago

Their focus was marketing metrics. Information gathering for targeted advertising. Also "event curating" or head counting for special TV events. If MS had had their way with always online and mandatory Kinect pre COVID, as and during it they'd likely be turning into dominant presence in many Western homes. Be getting subsidized by Disney and other streamers as well as the NFL.

Thing was, Kinect as an actual game system, its games, just weren't ready. MS moved on it too soon. Thankfully.

Atticus_finch1417d ago

Sorry but it was incredibly bad for gaming. The thing barely worked as intended and the games were broken shovelware. And let's not forget all the lies from Xbox to try and sell it. What happened to Milo?
It's like Xbox it's a perpetual lying machine.

PrimeVinister1417d ago

I had almost forgotten about Milo. It looks so unbelievable in retrospect. How did anyone believe it?!

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1417d ago
TheEnigma3131417d ago

Kinect requirement, TV focused, DRM, and $100 buried Xbone before it even stared.

PrimeVinister1417d ago (Edited 1417d ago )

I think Kinect was the worst of the bunch. They reversed DRM overnight and try to play down the TV stuff when they realised it made them look disinterested in gaming.

Kinect stuck around for six months, preventing sales and making more and more people upset when they dropped the Kinect and the price.

Atticus_finch1417d ago

Don't forget the inferior hardware which affects their game development to this day.
And the constant boasting and lying that hasn't change very much to this day.

kayoss1417d ago

I was kind of excited for the kinect. It had potential. That was until i tried it at one of their Microsoft store. The thing was so laggy and worker who was there, had no clue what he was doing. It kind of made rethink about buying an Xbox One with Kinect.

PrimeVinister1417d ago

I had already been turned off of the idea by Kinect for 360. Even when it worked, the games were bad and showed no potential.

Wii made you understand what they were going to do with it within about 10 seconds of Wii Sports. It went on to become a bit of a joke but at least it worked and had a purpose.

Thundercat771417d ago

The damage to the Xbox brand was so hard that til this day they are just the last place brand in the market.

PrimeVinister1417d ago

Totally. They haven't been really all that relevant since.

Godmars2901417d ago

That has to do with repeatedly failing, having to reaffirm only to again fail at creating a competent flow of decent games.

@PrimeVinister:
Until Game Pass and BC are mentioned. Only for the point to be missed.

kayoss1417d ago

thats because they dont know what they want to be. A gaming console, Television, or a gaming service?

Godmars2901417d ago

@kayoss:
They wanted, expected, to be Steam. To have everyone coming to them and paying for the privilege. That's the exact mentality on display when they tried to push always online.

brewin1416d ago

Its sad because the Xbox one version of Kinect was actually pretty solid. Not for motion games, I couldnt care less about those, but for the other features that are now commonplace in the gaming ecosystem. Things like voice control and optional motion features in games. Stuff that Sony did with the PS camera was pretty sweet and they could have done some of that stuff with Kinect.

The tech was pretty sweet when implemented right though. Who remembers the implementation in Dead Rising 3?! You could lure zombies away by saying stuff into the kinect, it was a bit hokey at first, but it actually enhanced the game significantly once you learned all the different voice commands. There was and still is nothing else like that!

The focus on TV seemed to be an issue for people, but the TV pass through had some real potential. They could have had cable companies giving the XBone out instead of cable boxes! I understood what they were trying to do, but they needed to show the games too, and thats where they lost the core gamers. Being able to jump right to a sports event or TV show with out leaving the console was actually a pretty cool thing. I spent many nights switching between NHL games or TV shows and jumping right back into my games seamlessly, just by telling Kinect to do so. It was better than people care to admit, but I loved it!

People say XBone had no games, but on launch I got Dead Rising 3, AC Black Flag, Watch Dogs, Killer Instinct, Battlefield 4, Forza 5, and Ryse. That was actually a pretty solid lineup in hindsight! Then later on it got gems like Quantum Break, Dead Rising 4, Sunset Overdrive, Gears 4 and 5, the Ori games, Rare Replay, Forza Horizon 3/4, State of Decay 2, ReCore (SUPER UNDERRATED GEM), Halo 5, Halo Wars 2, and all the great 3rd party stuff as well! I dare anyone who sat on the Xbox One to go back and give it a shot now.

It was actually a pretty great console all things considered. Yes the PS4 had better 1st party stuff, stuff that MS just couldnt top or even compete with, but there are some really great games that a lot of people missed out on that they would probably really enjoy if they actually played them. Thats why I recommend a Series S and Gamepass to a lot of people, as its a great way to get an awesome lineup pf games for super cheap!

Show all comments (22)