Kinect for Windows Applications Shown at Microsoft TechForum

This year’s Microsoft TechForum provided an opportunity for Craig Mundie, Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer, to discuss the company’s vision for the future of technology as well as showcase two early examples of third-party Kinect for Windows applications in action.

Mundie was joined by Don Mattrick, President of the Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business, and his Chief of Staff, Aaron Greenberg, who demonstrated both of the third-party Kinect for Windows applications, including the Pathfinder Kinect Experience. This application enables users to stand in front of a large monitor, and use movement, voice, and gestures to walk around the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder Concept, examining the exterior, bending down and inspecting the wheels, viewing the front and back, and then stepping inside to experience the upholstery, legroom, dashboard, and other details.

Nissan worked with IdentityMine and Critical Mass to create the Kinect-enabled virtual experience, which was initially shown at the Chicago Auto Show in early February. The application is continuing to be refined, taking advantage of the Kinect natural user interface to enable manufacturers to showcase their vehicles in virtual showrooms.

“Using motion, speech, and gestures, people will be able to get computers to do more for them,” explain Greenberg. “You can imagine this Pathfinder solution being applied in different ways in the future - at trade shows, online, or even at dealerships - where someone might be able to test drive a physical car, while also being able to visualize and experience different configurations of the car through its virtual twin, accessorizing it, changing the upholstery, et cetera.”

Also demonstrated at TechForum was a new kind of shopping cart experience, which was developed by mobile application studio Chaotic Moon. This application mounts a Kinect for Windows sensor on a shopping cart, enabling the cart to follow a shopper - stopping, turning, and moving where and when the shopper does.

Chaotic Moon has tested their solution at Whole Foods in Austin, Texas, but the application is an early experiment and no plans are in place for this application to be introduced in stores anytime soon. Conceivably, Kinect-enabled carts at grocery stores, shopping malls, or airports could make it easier for people to navigate and perform tasks hands free. “Imagine how an elderly shopper or a parent with a stroller might be assisted by something like this,” notes Greenberg. 

 “The Kinect natural user interface has the potential to revolutionize products and processes in the home, at work, and in public places, like retail stores,” continues Greenberg. “It’s exciting to see what is starting to emerge.”

[View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sa1L6Y-ZN04]

Kinect for Windows team