Johnny Chung Lee, the human-computer interaction designer behind some of the most innovative Wii hacks that have surfaced to date, has recently been working as part of Microsoft’s Kinect team. Today, that changed. Here’s part of a notice from Lee’s personal blog:

I have some big news to announce on a personal front: Very recently, I have left Microsoft to join a special projects team at Google.

Lee’s list of Wii hacks reads like a geek’s wet dream. His finger tracking demos showed off how you could start working with Minority Report style input methods using a $40 peripheral and some ingenuity. The interactive whiteboard demos were practical and useful to many users; they have also spun off several child projects from other developers.

But my favorite, the head tracking demo, shows how a 2D screen can trick your eye into seeing a 3D scene. It effectively turns your screen into a virtual window into another world. I can’t help but think, “this is how 3D games should be.” Check out the video below, it gets good about 2 minutes and 30 seconds in, where the 3D-like effect is demonstrated.

After Lee put his mark on the tech world with his Wii demos, he joined Microsoft’s Kinect team to work on motion tracking algorithms. In his post he goes on to say that he looks forward to “seeing how [Kinect] will evolve over the next few years and I absolutely wish the Xbox team the best of luck.” Considering how fast a community of Kinect hackers popped up, following in Lee’s footsteps, my hunch is that Kinect evolution is inevitable and motion tracking has a bright future.

So, what exactly is Lee going to be working on at Google? His official title is “Rapid Evaluator”. Unfortunately, that doesn’t explain much. One thing should be certain—good things are in store for Google products. I’m hoping that includes Android. Time will tell!

Now that you’ve seen what he Johnny Chung Lee is capable of, do you have any guesses about what he’ll be working on at Google? Leave your comments below!

Sources: Gamasutra, ZDNet

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My family have enjoyed the various sporting and exercise Kinect games that the new controller launched with. But recently we’ve been looking for some different experiences – particular those that offer a more traditional game experience with the new hardware.

This led me to stumble upon a duo of snowboard racing games that make use of the motion sensing controller: Adrenalin Misfits from Konami and Sonic Free Riders from Sega. Both experiences offer a lot more than the usual mini-game fare that plagued the Wii’s early third party titles.

Sonic Free Riders ($39.96 Amazon) is the most exuberent of them, and asks a lot of both the player and camera. Our kids like the idea of this one the best and took to it quickly, but after a while they became a bit frustrated with it. I was called in to see if I could get on any better, and although it did respond a little better to my larger gestures I still struggled to pull off the complex movements it was asking of me.

Sonic Free Riders

Along the way you can collect power-up items. These either give you a boost or slow your opponents down – that much is expected. More unusual though is the way each of these collectibles adds an in-race minigame. It’s a little bit like playing Wii-Sports and Mario Kart at the same time.

You see, each power-up (Bowling Strike, Tee Shot, Free Throw and Soda Rocket) requires a related motion to trigger them. Trying to pull off a bowling action while steering the hover board and preparing for an on-rushing jump is no mean feat.

Sonic Free Riders

I found that there was just too much going on for me to really nail the racing. Or I would find a good racing groove but forget to trigger the items I’d collected.

This does get better with time, as your muscles get used to different movements required, but I also found that Kinect struggled to consistently notice my movements. It meant I lost confidence in the controller’s ability to really see what I was doing – which is strange because other games have been spot on in this respect.

We moved onto Adrenalin Misfits ($39.99 Amazon) and had almost the reverse experience. The kids simply couldn’t get the hand of it to begin with. I had to talk them through each of the moves in turn. But once they saw me doing it and had some practice themselves they really warmed to the downhill racing.

Adrenalin Misfits

Adrenalin Misfits uses Kinect’s controls wisely in a downhill boarding experience that reminded me of the real thing. If you have the time to invest it really starts to flow.

But rather than the complex challenges and fiddly steer of Sonic Free Riders, I was impressed to find a much more controllable ride. Rather than overcomplicating things with collectibles, power-ups and the like, Adrenalin Misfits focuses on creating a true to life – if cartoony – rendition of getting down a slope.

Adrenalin Misfits

Adrenalin Misfits works for me because it simply feels right. It recreates the sense of flow you get from a real slope. Of course, the real thing is a very different experience, but something of it has been captured here. And the slight vagueness of the Kinect controls actually works in its favor.

Which of these two games will suit your family depends on what you want from your Kinect experiences and how long you are willing to invest.

For us, we are still switching between both games. The younger members of the family still seem to have a soft spot for Sonic, while the older ones prefer the controls of Adrenalin Misfits.

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We’ve had Kinect for a while now and have tried all three dance games – the hardcore favorite Dance Central, the club focused Dance Masters and the Hawaiian themed Dance Paradise. But the question is which of these games are best for a family? Well, for our family here’s how they each got on:

Dance Central

Dance Central has a steep learning curve and demands accurate moves from the player. To offset this it has a very good Break it Down tutorial mode to take you through each step. If you are serious about learning to dance properly this is a good bet. Dance Central also has the most family friendly dancers, and presents more of a hip-hop vibe.

Dance Central’s multiplayer modes are only turn-taking though, which means that this is not so good for family groups. Other dance games enable you to dance simultaneously with another player.

Dance Paradise

Dance Paradise uses the Xbox 360 avatars well. You can see yourself in avatar form on the screen dancing in real time – although this isn’t a one-to-one mapping. The dancing itself is more technical than the other Kinect dance games, and takes a bit of getting used to the “lanes” system. Once you master it though it is actually the easiest game. Dance Paradise does includes the original music videos to each song that make it less suitable for younger children.

Dance Paradise offers a good range of multiplayer modes that are good for families. For larger groups there is also a ten player mode where each person takes a turn on the dance floor.

Dance Masters

Dance Masters places a video image of the player on the screen so they can see themselves in real time. The moves are fast and frantic and the tutorial is not as in depth – or song specific – as Dance Central. There is a lot of footwork involved in each dance, perhaps reflecting its roots in dance mat games. Dance Masters also has more scantily clothed dancers and has a grown-up club feel to it.

Dance Masters also has a good simultaneous two player mode that also has the novelty of seeing each player on screen.

Which Kinect dance game fits for your family depends how old your children are, and what you are looking for. If it’s serious dancing then Dance Central is hard to beat and if you have older kids then Dance Paradise is a lot of fun. For teenagers who want to recreate the club vibe at home there is Dance Masters. But if you want some casual dancing fun like we do there is still a lot of mileage back on the Wii with Just Dance 2.

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Kinect Joy Ride

I was a little skeptical of Kinect before I tried it, but I keep coming across features that make gaming a lot easier for my family. Most recently we’ve been playing Kinect Joy Ride.

Although hands free steering takes a bit of getting used to, we all enjoyed the light hearted racing fun. Like the playful hands-up indication I mention about Kinect Sports, the steering wheel controls are just as playful – I couldn’t help smiling.

On top of these you can pull your arms back to charge a boost then thrust them forward to trigger it. In the Battle mode you can also reach your arm left or right to fire various weapons you collect.

Kinect Joy Ride

Put a child in front of Kinect Joy Ride – as we did – and tell them to just steer is pretty much all the instruction they need. The rest of the game just works. Acceleration and braking is handled for you. If you need a little more corning you can stick your bum out to drift, something our five year old found hysterical to watch.

Being able to play with their very own avatars meant that each of our kids are now setup on the 360. They took a good half an hour each choosing how they wanted to look and what to wear.

This brings me to our family’s favorite feature of Kinect Joy Ride – something that it shares with other Kinect titles. Because the Kinect camera can recognize who you are from your outline, all you need to do is stand in front of the game and it automatically picks the right avatar.

Kinect Joy Ride

It sounds like a small thing I know, but with five of us playing games switching between profiles can be a real pain. In fact we often just all play on the same character just to simplify things. Kinect’s player identification feature has put pay to all that and we can each track our progress – as well as look like ourselves in the game. This has been so successful in cementing the connection between virtual and real worlds that our kids now spend almost half their game time each day just fiddling with their 360 avatars.

Wired: Hand free racing and player identification.

Tired: Sometimes struggles to identify the smallest family members.

Kinect Joy Ride is available from Amazon for $39.99.

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It’s Smarter Than You Think

Despite its tiny footprint, the Kinect is loaded with sensors. To track players in real time it employs an RGB camera, an infrared camera, five microphones and a motorized subsystem. All these systems communicate with the Xbox through either a dedicated port (for the new Xbox 360 S), or a dongle for older models.

It Recognizes Your Identity and Tracks Your Skeleton

What makes the Kinect different from other motion-tracking systems like the Wii and the Playstation Move is how it scans its players. Unlike other motion-sensing consoles, the Kinect’s array of sensors maps the room, its characteristics, and its inhabitants. It rules out stationary objects, determining what’s a flesh-and-blood gamer and what’s a potted plant. And because the software knows the gist of a human form (head, shoulders, various joints), it can effectively distinguish between different people.

The Software Has Been Tweaked, Too

Along with the hardware, Microsoft has rolled out some major software updates. The Kinect dashboard serves as the hub for configuring, exploring and interacting with Kinect-ready content. Though it’s a little barren today,  Microsoft says we can expect to see a number of apps leveraging Kinect in the near future. Hellooo, voice-activated Netflix app.

There Are Decent Games, Just Not Many

Kinect is launching with a modest selection of 12 games. Though Kinect Sports and Dance Central were office favorites, the selection of hard-core titles is practically nil. Developers like Lionhead Studios are integrating Kinect capabilities into existing titles like Fable 3, so we expect more in the future.

It’s Not All Perfect: There Are Limitations

In our tests, Kinect straddles a line between delight and disappointment. In the tight confines of the Gadget Lab (roughly 7 feet deep), Kinect Sports had trouble “seeing” our feet during the soccer minigame. However, when we moved our setup to the Wired kitchen, we gained more space (and motion-capturing reliability), but lost voice-recognition accuracy because of the atmospheric din.

See the Kinect in Action

Terrence Russell (@terrencerussell) contributed to Wired UK’s November cover story on the Kinect.

For more on the Kinect, please read our extensive coverage on Game Life and Gadget Lab.

Photos: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

View full post on Product Reviews | Wired.com

It’s Smarter Than You Think

Despite its tiny footprint, the Kinect is loaded with sensors. To track players in real-time it employs an RGB camera, an infrared camera, five microphones, and a motorized sub-system. All of these systems communicates with the Xbox through either a dedicated port (for the new Xbox 360 S), or a dongle for older models.

It Recognizes Your Identity and Tracks Your Skeleton

What makes the Kinect different from other motion tracking systems like the Wii and the Playstation Move is how it scans its players. Instead of other motion-sensing consoles, the Kinect’s array of sensors maps the room, its characteristics, and its inhabitants—once it rules out stationary objects, the Kinect determines what’s a flesh and blood gamer and what’s a potted plant. And since the software knows the gist of a human form (head, shoulders, various joints), it can effectively distinguish between different people.

The Software Has Been Tweaked Too

Along with the hardware, Microsoft has rolled out some major software updates. The Kinect dashboard serves as the hub for configuring, exploring, and interacting with Kinect-ready content. Though it’s a little barren today,  Microsoft says we can expect to see a number of apps leveraging Kinect in the near future. Hellooo voice-activated Netflix app.

There Are Decent Games, Just Not Many

Kinect is launching with a modest selection of 12 games at launch day. Though Kinect Sports and Dance Central were office favorites, the selection of hardcore titles is practically nil. Developers like Lionhead Studios are integrating Kinect-capabilities into existing titles like Fable 3, so we expect more in the future.

It’s Not All Perfect; There Are Limitations

In our tests, Kinect straddles a line between delight and disappointment. In the tight confines of the Gadget Lab (roughly 7 feet deep), Kinect Sports had trouble “seeing” our feet during the soccer mini-game. However, when we moved our setup to WIRED’s kitchen, we gained more space (and motion-capturing reliability), but less voice-recognition accuracy due to the atmospheric din.

See The Kinect in Action

Terrence Russell (@terrencerussell) co-wrote WIRED UK’s November cover story on the Kinect.

For more on the Kinect, please read our extensive coverage on Game Life.

(Photos by Jon Snyder for Wired.com)

View full post on Product Reviews | Wired.com

Kinect (image: xbox.com)

I’m something of a cynic, so I wasn’t all that sure about the new 360 controller. But having seen it in action in the recent E3 press event, there are a few good reasons for families to get excited about another way to play.

Firstly, I really buy the rubric of “getting the technology out of the way” that goes along with dumping a hand held controller. Microsoft’s recently re-named Kinect camera controller (previously Natal) does a good job of feeling futuristically simple. You just put your hand up and gesture your way through the menus. My kids will love this – although I can no longer simply hide the controller when I want them to stop changing channel.

Kinect Sports from Rare was the first game I considered in more detail with the hardware. As I said, “Kinect Sports offers soccer, beach volleyball, bowling, table tennis, track and field, and boxing played solo or in teams. Each are played with your full body as the Kinect camera calculates your limb, torso and hand movements.”

It makes a lot of sense for many of these games to be played without the hindrance of cables or controllers. I’m particularly looking forward to getting out of breath playing the  Track and Field events. But I’m less convinced by games like Table Tennis that need much more fidelity.

I made the point that compared to Wii-Sports “Kinect Sports offers a more exuberant and accessible experience that is closer to real exercise. What it lacks in precision it aims to make up for by the freedom of not needing to hold a controller.” I may be proved wrong but I think the disconnect of precision simply won’t suite some gameplay activities.

Much more convincing though was Your Shape Fitness Evolved. This is the new fitness game that uses the Kinect controller to track your movements during your routine and then offers real-time feedback. “Seeing the game in action was a marked step forward from previous DVD-like fitness games that made use of a camera. Having the player’s frame on screen as the game visually analyzed their skeletal positioning and accuracy is really impressive.”

Simply seeing an accurate real-time 1-to-1 picture of yourself in the game completely made sense of Kinect to me. Showing it to my wife, she was obviously impressed at both the accuracy and range of feedback the experience offered.

This was all very well, but for Kinect to make sense to me it really needed a killer game. I think I found it in the form of Dance Central the new dance game from Harmonix.  Rather than stepping on pads or striking poses with remotes, it lets you use your full body to dance.

“This change may sound minor, but it turns the game from a novelty into something that feels genuinely beneficial. As you are taken through the different stages of choreography you are really learning to dance.”

In a similar way to Your Shape, Dance Central felt like it created a new gaming experience with the Kinect controller. This wasn’t just aping something the Wii had been doing for the last few years it was totally fresh. And seeing it game me that same buzz of excitement that I had first playing Wii-sports.

This is obviously only scratching the surface on these games, not to mention the other Kinect news, but on first showing I’m hopeful that there is plenty for the family gamer to enjoy here. Maybe it’s time to start saving those pennies again.

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The new Xbox 360 launched today, and is priced at $299. The older Elite model will stick around for $249 and the Arcade will drop to $149. ESPN and Microsoft said Xbox 360 owners will be able to stream live sporting events if they are also Xbox Live Gold subscribers. A new ESPN channel will feature more than 3,500 live sporting events during its first year.

Microsoft officially announced their full-body motion control system for the Xbox 360, now called Kinect on Sunday evening during the E3 2010 trade show. Microsoft says it will be available in November.

Microsoft director Alex Kipman, originally named it after the Brazilian city of Natal, as a tribute to his country of origin.

A 45-minute theatrical performance by Cirque du Soleil utilized Kinect with a 76-person cast of “dancers, musicians, acrobats and clowns,” with 25-foot high projection screens above the stage.

There are supposedly going to be around 12 titles available when Kinect launches later this year, according to USA Today. Current rumors suggest there will be two version of Natal with the more expensive version priced at $189.

So-called “gesture control” systems utilize camera sensors to detect radar-like beams that hit objects in the room. Such systems have a surprisingly fine level of detail, even able to recognize different hand signals or small movements — even incorporate facial recognition.

Kinect was first announced on June 1, 2009 at E3 2009 as “Project Natal”. Microsoft said that over one thousand software development kits began shipping to game developers that same day. It is scheduled to be released in time for Christmas 2010.

The technology utilizes Microsoft’s software research, with Microsoft adding software control to 3DV, an Israeli 3-D camera company it recently acquired.

A light source puts out a train of short light pulses. Each pulse becomes a “light wall” that moves forward and illuminates the field of view. The energy detected by each camera pixel corresponds inversely to the distance, so the light reflected from a near object is captured completely while the reflection from a distant object appears too late to be captured, explains Broadcast Engineering. The 3DV Zcam offered keying that’s based on range-mapping, allowing objects to be attached to layers, eliminating the need for chroma key.

At the Society for Information Display in Seattle last month, companies showed off 3-D displays that don’t require glasses. These sets often use lenticular lenses, which are integrated into the display and project different images in two fixed directions. But a viewer needs to stand in designated zones to experience a 3-D effect; otherwise the screen becomes an out-of-focus blur.

Microsoft’s prototype display can deliver 3-D video to two viewers at the same time (one video for each individual eye), regardless of where they are positioned. It incorporates Kinect technology to determine location. The market for 3-D-capable televisions is expected to grow from 2.5 million sets shipped in 2010 to 27 million in 2013, according to the research firm DisplaySearch.

Perhaps gesture recognition will be incorporated into public art projects. Experiential marketing — without the marketing.

The Wireless Association announced today a five day interactive event in the main hall of Washington, DC’s Union Station. From June 14th-18th, CTIA will host a 50-foot-wide “Wireless Freedom Dome”– a 360-degree interactive experience where visitors can submit photos and messages using their wireless devices.

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