Project Natal drops hardware Motion detection to save costs!

[drkohler]

JaggedSac said:

drkohler said:

JaggedSac said:

Is Natal using TOF?  I read they are just reading the light intensity reflected back from the IR bursts.

Hmm you got me there. I have to think a while to figure out if that is actually possible at all, considering the reflectivity of a volume element changes with angle of illumination. Just think of a mirror cube that rotates at a fixed axis in front of the camera. The reflected ir light would vary from 0% to 100% with the cube constantly at the same distance. That would refute your idea..

Well, it wasn't my idea, I read it here, so I figured they would be right...

"A player standing anywhere between 0.8 and 4 metres from Natal is illuminated with infrared light. A monochrome video camera records how much of that light they reflect, using the brightness of the signal to approximate their distance from the device and capture their movements in 3D."

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20527426.800-microsofts-bodysensing-buttonbusting-controller.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=tech

I'm just guessing if they really used such an imprecise technique, then it would not have made sense for MS to buy that israely company that wanted to sell their tof system "for under $100". On the other hand, it would be nothing but an EyeToy*2 which would explain its low price.