You may still hear the theme songs ringing in your head, and remember the secret codes for infinite life’s and hidden levels. The late nights spent trying to complete the most difficult parts, or maybe you even still have visions of 2D worlds with fire breathing dragons and such. All of these sensory sensations come from a time between the late 80’s to early 90’s, a time when gaming was in it’s infancy. I, like many other kids across the world during that time, experienced the same sensations. These audio and visual gaming experiences were created by a little company called Nintendo, and they revolutionized the industry, much like Atari did before them.
Now fast forward to 2011, a new experience is taking hold. It’s an experience of XBOX Kinect. I admit it. Although we have installed many of these devices to our client’s existing home automation systems, I personally have yet to experience it first hand. That being said, there is a lot of buzz about this new technology that Microsoft has created, and it’s domino effect on how we may begin to control our technology in the future.
Who needs a controller when you have your body? If you are completely in the dark about the Kinect system, it’s a gaming device that does not need a remote control. When you first start to play it takes a scan of your body and an avatar is made of your likeness. This initial scan also scans the whole room. You can then use your whole body to control your avatar in the game.
So, the glaring question is if a complex gaming system does not need a remote control in order to navigate complex body maneuvers, why can’t you control your home automation system the same way? As I write this post, that reality is coming closer. The Kinect system has already been hacked by several developers. One developer, by the name of Evoluce, actually got the XBOX Kinect to work with windows Media Center and the entire Windows 7 desktop. It’s pretty cool stuff! Check out the video below.
There is no doubt that this new technology will continue to evolve and expand just like the gaming industry has over the past thirty to forty years. It is very likely that you could be sitting in front of your display with no controller just arm movements, and the lighting will dim, the fireplace will turn on, the temperature will become cooler or warmer, and a TV lift will drop down from the ceiling. You get the point.
I am excited for our programmers to get a chance to dig into this new technology once an opportunity arises. I believe that time could be just around the corner.