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Forums - Microsoft Discussion - Update: Microsoft says Illumiroom isn't yet ready for next Xbox, but will get public demo in July

Engadget

Since we saw Illumiroom at CES in January, the technology has come quite a ways. But while it's still a spectacular technology display, don't look for it to pop up in any Xbox announcements in the near future. In fact, Microsoft Research's Hrvoje Benko and Brett Jones told us during a interview that while they have Illumiroom technology working well at this point, they're not likely to even demo it to the public until July at Siggraph.

That's not to say that you're not going to want it. The researchers showed in detail exactly how it works: they use a Kinect to scan your living room, then project a series of "illusions" onto it with a wide-screen projector, getting the colors just right using a technique called "radiometric compensation." The projector and Kinect can be mounted in any convenient spot in the room, like the ceiling or a table. While the technology can be used with other forms of entertainment, researchers concentrated on gaming, since they're able to generate source material that works well with the effects. Some of those illusions include "focus," which displays special effects around the images, "segmented focus," to extend the display to portions of the living space (requiring extra material to be generated), and "appearance," changing the look of your room by giving it a cartoon appearance, for instance.

http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/30/microsoft-illumiroom-researchers/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=Feed_Classic&utm_campaign=Engadget



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drkohler said:
Adinnieken said:
Lafiel said:

hm..

if the projector is behind you, doesn't that mean you'll cast a huge shadow in the scene while you are using an intense kinect game (there probably will be kinect games you can play while sitting though, as Kinect 2.0 surely will be able to track hand/finger movements much better than before) ?

The projector, because of Kinect, knows where you are.  So, where you are, it doesn't project. 

Why would you do that? You lose processing time, you simply project the image and if you happen to be in the way, you are the surface. Zero processing time wasted... (notice that in the demo, Kinect did absolutely nothing once the room was initially scanned).

However, there are several things conveniently missing from the demo. Like, for example, who is calculating the projection? If we assume the projector is 1080p (lower res = shitty picture), you need to calculate two images (one game screen, one geometry-aware, projected screen). That is a lot of power -where does it come from? who tells the projected screen how the world is supposed to look "outside the screen" (needs the source code of the game)?

The geometry comes from Kinect and it's calculated on a computing device, before it's sent to the GPU.  I assume the computing device is the console.  The resolution for the primary display is 1080p.  The IllumiRoom content is displayed at a lower resolution, though I don't believe it is necessarily limited to low res.   

If the Xbox 360 is capable of displaying 4K games, then it would be capable of displaying more than one image at 1080p.

I should point out that originally the idea was a near 360° projector.  However, it looks like those plans have been altered.   



Nsanity said:
Since we saw Illumiroom at CES in January, the technology has come quite a ways. But while it's still a spectacular technology display, don't look for it to pop up in any Xbox announcements in the near future. In fact, Microsoft Research's Hrvoje Benko and Brett Jones told us during a interview that while they have Illumiroom technology working well at this point, they're not likely to even demo it to the public until July at Siggraph.

That's not to say that you're not going to want it. The researchers showed in detail exactly how it works: they use a Kinect to scan your living room, then project a series of "illusions" onto it with a wide-screen projector, getting the colors just right using a technique called "radiometric compensation." The projector and Kinect can be mounted in any convenient spot in the room, like the ceiling or a table. While the technology can be used with other forms of entertainment, researchers concentrated on gaming, since they're able to generate source material that works well with the effects. Some of those illusions include "focus," which displays special effects around the images, "segmented focus," to extend the display to portions of the living space (requiring extra material to be generated), and "appearance," changing the look of your room by giving it a cartoon appearance, for instance. Despite the still-early phase of the research, it's definitely whetting our appetite for more -- and you can see an interview with the researchers, along with a full raw video of the presentation after the break.

If the rumors are to be believed, 2014 is when it'd be released. 



At first I was like
"Not interested"
Then he was like
"We can even make it snow in your living room"
and then I was like
"you have my attention."



PS One/2/p/3slim/Vita owner. I survived the Apocalyps3/Collaps3 and all I got was this lousy signature.


Xbox One: What are you doing Dave?