No Controllers Needed: Project Natal Xbox 360

My friend Doug brought this to my attention this morning. Microsoft's new project Natal. Project Natal is a full-body motion control that doesn't require a controller of any kind. In watching the promotion video for the Natal I was very intrigued and excited in this new innovation.

Project Natal is a bar that sits above or below your TV, much like the Wii's sensor bar. But instead of sensing controllers, this thing has a camera, sensors and a microphone inside that lets it get an accurate sense of your space and you in it. This lets you control games just by moving around; kicking, jumping, whatever. But that's really just the start.

You can also move through menus by swiping your hands back and forth. The camera allows for fun features like facial and voice recognition. When you have it running, your Xbox will recognize your face and sign you in automatically.

This innovation is going to be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to things that developers will be able to build to interact with the users. It will bring the living room experience to a higher level from past generations of living room gadgets. Check out the video below of promotion of Project Natal.




Reference: Gizmodo.com