Haier smart TVs in the future might keep a careful eye on your hands for games and augmented reality experiences.
A smart TV is like a fusion of your TV set with your smart phone: Both could access the Internet; ability to have software installed on them via Web Widgets; and have an online interactive media component. Some could possibly be like the iPad but as big of a screen to watch a Football game with your buddies. Haier and Softkinetic just announced a partnership with each other to bring 3D cameras to smart TVs so that they can now track your gestures.
However these Haier smart TVs will only be available exclusively to China for the time being. The first smart TV with full-body recognition and tracking will be available in China in Q2 of 2013. Later the same technology will be available in Europe in the same year. SoftKinetic, leading developer of end-to-end gesture recognition solutions, will power these smart TVs with a DepthSense camera and iisu middleware.
Christophe Chancenest, sales and marketing director for Haier Brown Goods Products believes that the next challenge for gesture recognition technology is in the living room. “Thanks to the combination of SoftKinetic and Haier technologies, we can create innovative television experiences for consumers and families around the world,” says Chancenest. full-body tracking technology is a relatively new thing first introduced with the Microsoft Kinect, yet it seems like Haier and SoftKinetic want to take the lead to be the first in integrating this into Smart TVs.
The new smart TVs from Haier should play unique video games, though there are no details on what they might be. This smart TV will also provide “unique applications, video conference services, and augmented reality experiences” through the use of SoftKinetic’s DepthSense camera and iisu middleware.
Regardless of what gamers say about motion controls, lots of people were impressed with the technology behind the Microsoft Kinect. Based upon some videos I’ve seen with the Kinect used outside of gaming, it has helped blind people see around their area or groom a cat from another part of the world. However when it comes to making appealing games with the device is only seen best with dancing games (yes, even that dreaded Kinect Star Wars was accepted well).
