Intel readying to take on Kinect with 3D depth cameras

(Phys.org) —Anil Nanduri, director of
perceptual products and solutions at Intel has
revealed to IDG News that the company is
hard at work developing camera systems that
will not only replicate what users have come
to expect from products like Microsoft Kinect,
but will surpass them in ways that until now
have only been seen in science fiction movies.
He says new 3D camera systems will be
geared towards people and objects that are
much closer, and because of that will be able
to recognize much more detailed
characteristics of objects they see.
One example, Nanduri mentions is the ability
to track eye movements as someone reads a
page. A camera would be mounted on a
computer, for example, or handheld device
and operate while someone—such as a child—
reads, which could be useful in helping them
learn to read. Perhaps more eerie would be
the ability to match facial expressions while
a person is looking at their computer with a
database of known expressions, allowing the
device to recognize mood. Mood recognition
could of course be handy in helping people
communicate better online, or more
insidiously, by marketers looking to take
advantage of particular yearnings. Less
ominous, Nanduri says, would be software to
monitor mood while people watch movies,
engage with immersive video games or
interact with other entertainment systems
to help suggest options in the future. He also
said that the devices being developed by Intel
will provide far more 3D data than current
cameras systems which means they could also
be used to create virtual objects for use in
3D printing.
Intel doesn't have such a camera ready just
yet, but Nanduri says some stand-alone
models should be ready over the next few
quarters and then be embedded in other
devices shortly thereafter. Thus, unlike
Microsoft with its Kinect device, Intel is
clearly looking to create futuristic cameras
for general use in virtually any and all
devices, hopefully making them as ubiquitous
as webcams.
To reach that goal, it appears as though Intel
is planning to team up with already
established peripheral makers—
representatives from Intel have already
announced partnerships with other companies
such as the soon to be released Senz3D
external webcam that was jointly developed
with Logitech.