This week’s tech news has been dominated by Windows Phone 7, but the radar will soon switch to next month’s release of ‘Kinect’, Microsoft’s new motion sensing system for the Xbox 360. While Microsoft is playing catch-up in the smartphone business with Windows Phone 7, Kinect is definitely a leading edge (and potentially revolutionary) tool that could redefine the gaming industry…and technology in general.

The Xbox division at Microsoft has been very busy developing Kinect and the ‘Xbox Live Game Hub’ which is the key gaming feature for Windows Phone 7. The Xbox franchise has never been more important for Microsoft and it is a long time since industry commentators suggested that they should have never entered gaming. Last week Steve Ballmer was in London talking to students about both Windows Phone 7 and Kinect but indicated that he was more excited by the latter. “The device that I’m most keen on…is the next generation of the Xbox 360,” he said. At first this seems very strange, as an estimated $400 million will be spent marketing Windows Phone 7, but when considering the technology and potential behind Kinect it is clear to see why this is so exciting and why it will be shaping the way we interact with technology.

Kinect uses voice recognition and body motion to control everything you do on the TV through the Xbox console. Nothing is attached to your body because Kinect is the first controller-free gaming and entertainment experience. As soon as you enter your living room Kinect will automatically detect who you are based on your body shape and voice, and it will even respond to your verbal commands. When it comes to games there are no limits; Kinect will turn your living room into any environment that you desire. It can be your bowling alley, a football stadium or a yoga class.

Through motion and voice control Kinect will remove the barriers of having to learn how to use a controller and its buttons. The importance of this is summed up by Microsoft’s Marketing boss for Xbox 360, who explains that part of Kinect’s customer base will be, “All those who have rejected gaming either because of content or the controller”. If Microsoft can attract non-gamers in a market which is already worth $48 billion then they will be on to a real landscape changer. GfK Technology data even suggests that gamers will be willing to drop their controllers for motion control. A study that we carried out in February 2010 found that 27% of current gamers would use ‘motion controlled accessories’ as an important decision making factor when choosing their next console. The research was carried out when the impressive systems of Kinect (then Project Natal) and PlayStation Move were still in development. We fully expect this figure to have changed given the huge marketing push and eventual consumer usage once they’re available for purchase.

Kinect is powered through a type of interaction called natural user interface (NUI).  This technology relies on our natural gestures to act as the real time input, resulting in an immediate output. For example, with Kinect, you can browse your movie library with the flick of your wrist and get an immediate response on your television.  There is no need to input this command through a controlled physical device because, as Ballmer puts it, “You are the controls”. Just have a look at the video and see for yourself:

For a generation of point and click users who have learnt to communicate with technology through the touch of a mouse and keyboard, the idea of a ‘natural user interface’ may still seem like something out of Star Trek. But it is really nothing new; in fact, we are already using these gestures on our multi-touch mobiles through the pinching, twisting, stretching and flicking which is increasingly becoming second nature. NUI is gradually allowing us to interact with different technologies without being constrained to a physical device and Kinect symbolises the largest advancement in this area.

NUI will not only be adopted in our homes, but also at work and in wider walks of life. It will help increase productivity and efficiency by reducing the processes that are required to perform tasks. Imagine a quality control manager who enters the workplace and is identified through face recognition, who can then performs tasks like raising their arm to authorise stock quality, all in one motion. And there is the teacher who will have access to a wealth of information during class time by simply voice commanding the system to gather information on a specific subject matter. This is exactly what Ballmer talked about when he said: “People want smarter devices, but smarter devices that can connect with the cloud in intelligent ways”.

Microsoft have created a vision that NUI will define all interaction that we have with technology in the future. Its success hinges on consumers  finding this a ‘natural’ way to interact with technology. If they do and the technology is as easy to use and reliable as previous interaction methods, then there is huge potential for wider application, with the death of the keyboard and mouse merely the first step.

The UK release of Kinect will be in November 2010. Techtalk will be taking a closer look at consumer reactions surrounding NUI, so stay tuned.

Sources:

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/consoles/ballmer-excited-about-xbox-kinect-in-the-cloud-721027

http://blogs.ft.com/techblog/2010/10/steve-ballmer-london-lse/

http://www.wired.co.uk/wired-magazine/archive/2010/11/features/the-game-changer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2010/sep/01/windows-phone-7-costs-billions

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/news-features/news/Controller-free-gaming.htm

Research Info

*1000 online interviews were conducted by GfK NOP among a UK representative sample of internet users. The fieldwork was conducted between 15th – 19th February 2010

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Tags: Ballmer, Games Console, Gaming, Interaction, Kinect, Microsoft, Motion, Motion Free, natural user interface, NUI, Playstation, Playstation Move, Windows, Windows Phone 7, XBOX 360