Posted by Mikey on September 15, 2018 12:25:17The Xbox One and Xbox X features, both announced on Monday, have been met with mixed reviews by critics.
For one, the Kinect has only recently been announced, and the new Kinect Sports Rivals is currently only available for purchase in select territories.
The Xbox One also has limited support for the Xbox 360’s Kinect, which can only be used with games on the Xbox Live Marketplace.
But the biggest issue with the new features, which have only been available to Microsoft’s Xbox One console for a short while, is the Kinect sensor.
Microsoft’s chief technology officer Phil Spencer said on Twitter that the sensor can’t capture the face of the user.
It can only recognize gestures like tilting, but that’s about it.
So how can you use Kinect to help you navigate the Xbox gaming ecosystem?
We spoke to Spencer and the chief technology engineer on the matter.
“We’re excited about the new Xbox and we think the Xbox one will have great gaming experiences,” Spencer said.
“The Kinect sensor is just a good example of what you can do with it.
You can do a bunch of things with the sensor.”
It’s a big deal to have Kinect sensor capability, especially for Kinect Sports, a game where you can walk around a virtual world and get your bearings.
Spencer said that the Kinect camera can pick up all sorts of facial expressions, even when there are no motion sensors in play.
“It can get you an idea of what the user is looking at, which is cool because you can get an idea what your face is like, and how you’re smiling, which are cool,” Spencer added.
“If you’ve ever seen Kinect’s Kinect camera, it’s basically like having an extra camera that’s constantly watching your face and recording what you’re doing.
That’s really cool, and that’s where we can really make the most of the Kinect.”
In a video he shared on Twitter, Spencer said the Kinect sensors will work with “any kind of motion sensor that you could imagine.”
For example, if you’re trying to move your arm, you can press down on the triggers to let Kinect detect when you’re moving your arm and use that as input to move the camera.
It also lets you capture facial expressions and then apply them to your game.
You could use that data to get a better understanding of the player’s personality, or you could use it to make a custom avatar or even a character that you play.
“That’s just the tip of the iceberg, and it’s all possible,” Spencer shared.
But there are a few problems with the Kinect.
First, it has to be plugged into a computer.
Second, it can only detect gestures and not movement.
If you’re using Kinect to control a gamepad controller or controller support, it won’t work.
“But we can add a gesture recognition system in the future, but right now it’s just not available,” Spencer explained.
Third, Kinect has to do all the work for you.
The Kinect sensor only works when you have Kinect enabled, so you can’t use it on a wireless gamepad.
But if you want to use the Kinect for something else, like a motion sensor, you have to hook up the Kinect to the Xbox controller.
“You can hook up any kind of controller that you want and then you’re ready to go,” Spencer clarified.
And finally, the Xbox’s Kinect sensor requires a separate cable for power.
That means that you need to plug the Xbox into a wall outlet, which may not be an option for most.
However, Spencer hinted that the company is looking into plugging in power adapters to the Kinect, a move that would make the Kinect even more useful.
“I would say it’s an interesting idea,” Spencer quipped.
“There’s definitely a lot of potential for it.
We’re not there yet, but we are looking at it.”
Microsoft’s first new Xbox console, the X, launched earlier this month.