According to an online article, plans are being made to improve the accuracy of the Xbox 360 motion controller device, Kinect. The hope is that Microsoft will release a dashboard update in the future that will allow Kinect to detect both finger movement and hand rotation, thanks to a higher resolution depth sensor, something that the device is missing right now.
The article on Eurogamer states that Microsoft’s Kinect developers are working on creating an improved compression and switching technology that will let a larger amount of data pass through Kinect directly to the Xbox 360 console.
The reason for this is that the USB interface currently uses just 16MB/s of throughput when Kinect is attached to the console, this is despite being capable of around 35MB/s. Eurogamer state that the reason for this is due to the Xbox 360 allowing multiple USB devices to be connected at one time, slowing down other peripherals.
At the moment the depth sensor that Kinect uses is fixed at 30 frames a second in a low 320x240 resolution, but Eurogamer say that because the sensor can be updated via new firmware releases, there is a good chance that in the future a 640x480 resolution will be made available that will detect fingers and hand rotation.
If Microsoft does release an update, it could open up Kinect for even better and more in-depth motion controlled gaming. It would also be of great use to some of the Kinect hackers out there, especially those who have already been working on finger tracking.
Microsoft’s Kinect for Xbox 360 is available in stores now. You can read many comments about the device on our forums.