Microsoft"s next version of its Kinect motion sensing technology could be so advanced, it could have the ability to actually read your lips. That"s according to a story over at Eurogamer, which cites unnamed sources. The story claims that in addition to lip reading, the next version of the Kinect will also be able to detect whether or not a person is angry and which direction a person is facing.
The original Kinect, released in November 2010 as an add-on for the Xbox 360 console, was limited somewhat due to the console"s USB connection. That meant that the depth sensor had an artificial limit of just 30 frames per second along with a resolution of just 320x240. Kinect 2, which the story claims will be bundled with the next version of Microsoft" Xbox game console, won"t have those kind of artifical limits.
The story quotes its unnamed source as saying, "It can be cabled straight through on any number of technologies that just take phenomenally high res data straight to the main processor and straight to the main RAM and ask, what do you want to do with it?"
The story says that Kinect 2 will be able to track features such as the volume and pitch of human voice along with different kinds of facial motions. This would, in theory, allow the Kinect 2 to track different kinds of emotions in a Xbox console player. Naturally, Microsoft has taken the high road on this story, claiming in an official statement that it does not comment on rumors or speculation.