Kinect to improve accuracy!

Firmware update incoming to double camera resolution and enable hand and finger tracking.

Microsoft is working on an update for its Kinect motion sensor that will quadruple its accuracy.

Eurogamer reports that an update is in the works for the Xbox 360 peripheral that will enable it to track finger movement and hand rotation.

Kinect’s features are dictated by its firmware, allowing Microsoft to make improvements with dashboard updates and over time. At the moment the device is set to run at 320x240 resolution, at 30 frames per second. The update would see the resolution doubled to 640x480, which a source claims would enable the sensor to detect the movement of fingers and hands, effectively quadrupling its accuracy.

The 360’s USB controller interface is capable of transmitting 35MB of data per second, but Kinect currently only uses between 15 and 16MB/s because 360 supports the use of multiple USB devices. Microsoft is apparently working on increasing this limit, and with Kinect only needing 20MB/s to run both its cameras at full resolution, finger and hand detection may not be far away.

Clearly Microsoft is not resting on its laurels despite Kinect's considerable sales success, which has seen it sell 2.5 million units in its first month on sale. The news will also be well received by Primesense and OpenKinect, who have released open-source drivers allowing the device to be used on other platforms.

source:EDGE