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Microsoft Kinect avatars in health care

June 26th, 2011 by Joseph Ruthaford

Microsoft is trying to broaden the horizons of their product the Kinect. Which if you didn’t know is a motion camera with a microphone that can target your movements and record sounds and video. Well they introduced a brand new concept called avatar conferencing. The technology uses the sensor of the Kinect, camera and the mic to make cartoon type representations of people that can interact with others in a virtual space and it is to have realistic facial expressions and motions and is going to be in real time through natural movements and speech.
In a health-care demonstration, Craig Mundie showed the hypothetical example of a support group for people with diabetes, meeting virtually using the technology. By replaying the scene and focusing on a different part of the room, a health-care worker could see that one of the patients was struggling with something, based on in the emotions and body language expressed by her avatar. Which is shown in the picture above.
“If you get the animation of the eyes, eyebrows, face and mouth nominally correct, most of the major human emotions are accurately portrayed. You get a huge amount of cues even though you’re looking at their cartoon characters.” Stated Mundie.
This is a pretty cool concept and I would like to see how it will play out not just in these setting but in social ones as well, but it is a nice cool way to use the Kinect technology.

Related posts:

1. Kinect getting a development kit for Windows
2. Microsoft on top of the gaming wars
3. Xbox Live becoming a TV hub
4. Microsoft Goes Beyond the Touch Screen
5. Microsoft to buy Skype