Susana Vilaça

Another great example of Microsoft Kinect usage, and how it can be used to create new and different user experiences!

Chaotic Moon Labs’ “Board of Awesomeness” is intended as a technology teaser to show how perceptive computing can turn around the way we look at user experiences. The project utilizes a Microsoft Kinect device, Samsung Windows 8 tablet, a motorized longboard, and some standard and custom hardware to create a longboard that watches the user to determine what to do rather than have the operator use a wired or wireless controller. The project uses video recognition, speech recognition, localization data, accelerometer data, and other factors to determine what the user wants to do and allows the board to follow the operators commands without additional aid.

The video below is a new commercial, launched by Microsoft, about the XBox Kinect sensor. Kinect is a motion sensor for the XBox console and was initially intended for gaming purposes, however people started using it in various ways including in the fields of medicine, education and music.

This type of technology sure brings lots of challenges in the UX field. The gaming industry is still struggling with some interaction problems this sensor brings, and there are not many interaction patterns defined yet. Lets see where this takes us. For me, I believe in this technology, and I think there is room for evolving and improving.