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"Two years and millions of units later, Microsoft Kinect motion and voice capture and control system for the Xbox 360 is an unparalleled success. So it came as little surprise that the powerful controller is now an essential part of the Xbox One console that Microsoft will ship sometime later this year.\nThe new, somewhat larger \u2014 dare I say boxy -\u2013 Kinect is vastly more powerful than the one Microsoft had been selling for $99. During a post-Xbox One unveiling panel with Xbox\u2019s Major Nelson (A.K.A. Larry Hryb), Todd Holmdahl, the corporate vice president of Xbox Hardware, outlined the sensor\u2019s new capabilities:\n\nIts field of view is now 60% better\nYou can stand significantly closer to the sensor (up to four feet)\nIt can read up to six skeletons at once, as opposed to two\nIt works better than before in smaller rooms\nSmall object detection is two-and-a-half times better\nIt\u2019s better at not only seeing faces, but also detecting expressions\nActive IR provides better low-light operation\n\nWhile Microsoft raced through the Xbox One Kinect\u2019s new features during the hour-long unveil, I got a chance to see the new Kinect controller in action and play with it a little bit (even if it was in a very controlled setting).\nIt Sees All\n\nAs part of our tour of the Xbox Scientific Labs, Microsoft took us to a large room where they had set up a not-quite-finished Kinect for Xbox One. Its size and shape mimicked the one on stage earlier that day, but this one had a white chassis and some black tape on it. Clearly, though, the two had basically the same internals. \n\nKinect, which uses a combination of local and on-board-the-Xbox-One processing power, can view a room in far more detail than ever before. As I stood in front of the controller, I saw on the screen a room bathed in a remarkably detailed 3D mesh. It saw everything \u2014 I mean everything. My bald head, jacket, belt buckle, hands, fingers, the iPhone in my hand, my ties, the wrinkles in my shirt, every inch of me. And when I opened my mouth, the sensor saw my tongue.\n\nWanna know how accurate the new #Xbox One Kinect is? Check out how well it sees my face. twitter.com/LanceUlanoff/s\u2026\n\u2014 Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) May 21, 2013\n\nThe new Kinect can also see under our clothes. No, it\u2019s not scanning our bodies, but it can intuit skeletons and muscles. The new human-based physics model helps Kinect not only detect movement, but also tell which muscles are in use and which are relaxed. On screen, we saw these differences represented as red (stressed) and green (relaxed) muscles. With the added 3D capability, the sensor can also measure the force and momentum of your every move. In our demo, the amount of force was represented by larger circles (more force) and smaller circles (less force).\n\nOne of Kinect\u2019s more remarkable tricks is its ability to detect your pulse. It doesn't guess \u2014 it can really see and measure it. Using a combination of the color image feed and its Active IR sensor, Kinect can \u201Csee\u201D the pulse in your face. The screen below shows the live feed of someone in my tour group. \n\nHaving a Good Time?\nBut wait \u2014 there's more. Microsoft\u2019s Xbox One Kinect controller isn\u2019t simply measuring your position, action and pulse rate; it\u2019s capturing your mood. By detecting nearly every detail of your face, the controller knows when you're smiling and when you're bored.\nSEE ALSO: Xbox One\u2019s New Controller: Hands OnIf a few people stand in front of the Xbox One Kinect, it measures each of their activities. During our demo, since the new Kinect wasn\u2019t hooked up to a game, the controller produced a set of readouts that noted each person's facial expression, whether he was facing the controller, whether his mouth was open or closed, and whether he was speaking. Kinect\u2019s voice recognition is also more sophisticated. Microsoft demonstrated how the controller can now essentially extract commands in a noisy room. It can even tell who is delivering which commands. Without a game, though, this was hard to demonstrate.In Full View\nA new 1080p camera provides a widescreen view of the room without distorting it. This should be a boon for the Xbox One\u2019s newly integrated Skype calling capabilities. Instead of demonstrating this for us, Microsoft showed a canned video of a typical Skype group call.This highlighted a potential limitation of the new camera. While the demonstration showed most Skype participants sitting very close to the screen (possibly using a laptop or some other Skype-friendly device), realistically, most people using an Xbox are sitting at least 10 feet away from their HDTV screen and, likely, the new Kinect. \u201CCan you zoom?\u201D someone asked. The answer was no. But Microsoft didn't rule it out for the future.Despite this canned Skype demo, our Kinect demonstration proved that the earlier on-stage presentation wasn't simply a set of canned demos. There is real power inside the bigger, newer Kinect. I can't wait to see where developers go from here.Image Courtesy of Microsoft Corp\n\nMicrosoft Unveils the Xbox One\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Xbox One\nEnding years of rumors and speculation, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, the successor to the Xbox 360, on May 21, 2013. The price will be revealed closer to launch (expected holiday), but the new console has superior processing power, comes bundled with the Kinect sensor and has new abilities for watching TV and movies more conveniently.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nXbox One Hardware\nThe Xbox One console comes bundled with the Kinect and a controller.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSkype on Xbox One\nWhile you're watching a movie, Skype engages in \"snap\" mode on the side of the screen\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTV Guide\nMicrosoft says the Xbox One is an \"all in one\" device -- here's how your TV guide looks on it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nImproved Kinect\nThe Kinect is said to be much improved, capable of detecting subtler body movements, such as rotating joints.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nController\nThe controller got a revamp, too, with dozens of tiny modifications, although the overall shape stayed the same.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGameplay Rendering\nWith superior processing power, avatars can look more detailed than in Xbox 360 games.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGameplay Tracking\nThe Xbox One can perform four times the number of calculations per second as the Xbox 360.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEA Partnership\nEA is a key Xbox One partner. The company is launching a new gaming engine with the console: EA Sports Ignite.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nForza Motorsport 5\nForza Motorsport 5 is another EA game coming to Xbox One.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSpielberg to Helm Halo Series\nSteve Spielberg will be lending his talents to an upcoming live-action TV series based on the Halo franchise.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCall of Duty: Ghosts\nThe new installment in the Call of Duty franchise will make use of the Xbox One's hardware to tell a more engaging story, with lifelike graphics.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnimation Detail\nThe Xbox One will allow for much more realistic animation.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDog Scars and Tattoo\nEven the dogs will look better in Call of Duty: Ghosts. This one has realistic scarring and a tattoo in the ear.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAction\nThe next generation Xbox will be able to deliver movie-like experiences in games.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2013/05/22/xbox-one-kinect-heartbeat/>