Microsoft Takes The Xbox Out Of The Box With RoomAlive

With some analysts predicting the demise of game consoles, Microsoft Corp. is hedging its bets by thinking outside the Xbox. Microsoft Research recently published a video demonstration of its interactive RoomAlive project. It’s the successor to last year’s IllumiRoom concept, and it brings several interesting new features to the immersive gaming experience. IllumiRoom paired a Kinect sensor with a projector, so that an expanded view of a video game environment could be projected onto the wall behind the television. RoomAlive adds several additional projectors and Kinect-like depth cameras to the mix, and takes the television out of the equation. With the new system, the game takes place in and around the entire room.

To work properly, RoomAlive has to know the layout of a room, as well as the location of every object and piece of furniture. It accomplishes this by stitching together the views and data provided by the projector-depth camera units. Each unit has to be positioned to see a portion of the room, and its view must slightly overlap the views of the units closest to it. Each projector unit sends its piece of the puzzle, and the combined information is used to create a unified model of the room.

With every square inch of a room mapped and plotted, Room Alive can project a detailed environment on the walls and furniture. The room seems to fade away, as the augmented reality takes over the space. Microsoft demonstrated several applications the technology is suited for. In a whack-a-mole type game, a creature would burrow out of the wall at random locations in the room. One player attempted to punch or kick it, while another player used a game peripheral rifle to shoot the creature from a distance. The system tracks the players’ location and movement as they interact with the augmented world. Another demo allowed a player to use a game controller to move a 3D character around the room, where he could be seen climbing over furniture, and walking up walls.

The additional hardware requirements of RoomAlive would likely make the system too expensive for the average household. It’s hard to imagine anything like this being released in the near future. It’s good to know that Microsoft is preparing for a future where people aren’t content with sitting on the couch and playing video games on the television. When players demand to be in the game, instead of just playing it, Microsoft will be ready.