Mar 03
Your browser is in all your devices. Hell, you can even get it in your watch if you’re down with that. And in the Microsoft world, its next destination is your living room wall.
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Nov 18
Xbox One controller cost over $100 million to develop, smell-o-vision and built-in projector were considered
Posted in: Today's Chili
While Sony was content to toy with radical designs for the PlayStation 4’s controller, it turns out Microsoft took a more conservative approach when building the Xbox One’s gamepad. GamesBeat scored a look at the controller creation process and discovered that Redmond was reluctant to tweak the Xbox 360 controller at all since it considers the hardware “best-in-class.” After some pressure from Zulfi Alam, Xbox’s general manager for accessories, Ballmer and Co. decided to explore what changes could be made, and invested over $100 million throughout the course of the effort.
Despite the firm’s aversion to rocking the proverbial boat, it still wound up with more than a few unconventional prototypes — some of which packed built-in displays and cameras. One of the strangest versions included a cartridge for emitting smells, and another featured a built-in projector that could throw out visuals reminiscent of illumiroom. Ultimately, the wackier iterations gave way to the traditional kit that’s heading to stores, as the adventurous features drained battery life too quickly or the company’s “core base didn’t appreciate them,” according to Alam. While we wouldn’t have expected the Xbox One to usher in the age of smell-o-vision, we can’t help but wonder what that future would have looked smelled like.
Source: GamesBeat
Sep 02
Microsoft’s Albert Penello, head of product planning for Xbox, had admitted that the company’s super
Posted in: Today's ChiliMicrosoft’s Albert Penello, head of product planning for Xbox, had admitted that the company’s super-cool IllumiRoom concept would prove far, far too expensive to bother releasing it commercially. Shame.
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Aug 08
Normally, patent applications have us guesstimating at future implementations, but not so with this particular Microsoft filing. The USPTO doc, which surfaced just today and dates back to February 2012, has a very direct purpose: it uses two cameras to capture an environment, process the images and then spit ’em back out as a “integrated interactive space,” or projection. Sound familiar? We thought so. It’s called Illumiroom and it works with Kinect. Outside of a few gaming-centric demos earlier this year, Microsoft hasn’t really detailed too much about the in-development tech, nor its destiny outside those research labs. But if this patent app is related, it bodes well for fans of full-body gesture control and immersive AR environments. Because as we all know, a life less real is a life worth living. Right?
Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft
Source: USPTO
Apr 30
The Daily Roundup for 04.30.2013
Posted in: Today's Chili
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Apr 30
The Microsoft IllumiRoom concept was initially showed off at CES 2013 back in January. It uses a projector combined with Microsoft’s Kinect sensor to offer users a literally absorbing gameplay experience. IllumiRoom extends gameplay beyond the television as it scans the user’s surrounding through Kinect and creates a digital map of the room. Images and illusions are then projected on to walls or objects via the widescreen projector. For example, if the player was in a level in which it was snowing, IllumiRoom could make it look like it was snowing inside the room in which the game is being played.
It was rumored yesterday that Microsoft IllumiRoom might be available with the next generation Xbox, though that is not entirely true. Brett Jones and Hrvoje Benko, researchers at Microsoft, said that the product isn’t ready yet though it is working quite nicely in the lab. They say that the earliest this can be shown to people, that too as a concept, is July. They didn’t say anything with regards to the release time frame for IllumiRoom. Microsoft is due to make the next generation Xbox announcement at the 21st of May.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft IllumiRoom Could Equip The Xbox 720 With A Projector, Google Smart Watch Concept Shows What Could Be, 
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Apr 30
Microsoft says Illumiroom isn’t yet ready for next Xbox, but will get public demo in July (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili
Since we saw Illumiroom at CES in January, the research 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.
Apr 29
At this year’s CES, Microsoft decided to tease us a bit with its IllumiRoom concept which was shown to expand the visuals of your game beyond your HDTV. After 3 months since its initial unveiling, Microsoft has released a new video showing off the concept once again.
Microsoft’s Illumiroom could end up being a device that would sit on a coffee table in order to work together with the Kinect to project lights around their HDTV to extend the image that is displayed on the screen in real-time. The way Illumiroom would work with the Microsoft Kinect is by having the camera deliver information in regards to the person’s living room, which would help in its ability to project the expanded images. (more…)
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Beyond: Two Souls Highlighted In 35 Minute Gameplay Trailer, XCOM FPS Becomes ‘The Bureau: XCOM Declassified’; Releasing August 20, 
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Jan 09
[CES 2013] For years now, gamers have been playing on screens that have advanced greatly in the last 30 to 40 years. We’ve gone from black & white displays, to CRT monitors, all the way up to what we play our games on now. What we didn’t think of was to try to expand our gaming view from our TVs and monitors to the entire room, which is exactly what Microsoft is proposing with its proof-of-concept that’s being demoed at this year’s CES.
Microsoft’s IllumiRoom uses a combination of Microsoft’s Kinect and a projector in order to project images around the TV onto your walls and even furniture while you’re playing a game. IllumiRoom can be used to expand what you’re seeing within your TV as well as to add ambiance to certain games such as snowflakes falling around the player as they’re in a level filled with snow.
The video above showcases what the IllumiRoom is capable of, all in real-time and captured for the concept video live as it happens. Microsoft assures us no special effects were added to the video after it was recorded, which means if this is the kind of technology we can expect from our next Xbox, then we plan on pre-ordering it immediately.
By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Razer Artemis concept controller makes me feel like playing Mechwarrior all over again, An artist’s imaging of a Nintendo-made Angry Birds game,
Jan 09
Microsoft has an IllumiRoom project that projects images onto the entire wall of your room. It’s pretty crazy, when you’re playing video games, the IllumiRoom will show you what’s happening around you on the screen too. Basically, you get what giant wall TV for playing video games. More »
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