Overheard: "This Makes the Wii Look Stupid"
That's what I heard someone saying when I walked by 3DV Systems’ booth. Their 3D camera lets you control games with movement, just like the Wii—except you don’t need to hold a controller. Watch the guy boxing in this video: He’s swinging his arms just like he would in a boxing ring, and his on-screen character moves exactly as he does. The trick is a web-cam-sized camera, placed near the TV, that sends out invisible infrared rays and times how long they take to bounce back. This captures 3D information that shows where each part of your body is at each point in time, and the game uses this location and position info just like a Wii game would. Right now 3DV is in talks with companies about making and selling the product, hopefully for under $200.
Watch for more details on the tech in an upcoming issue of PopSci, and in the meantime, check out the video after the jump. —Lauren Aaronson
I doubt that'll really kill the Wii (driving? shooting?) but it'll make Wii SPORTS look stupid.
Posted by: Rufus | January 08, 2008 at 03:52 PM
This has much deeper implications then gaming. People largely play video games to relax and enjoy doing lots of cool stuff without all the effort. This could be a revolutionary leap for virtual worlds. holodeck anyone?
Posted by: the chad | January 08, 2008 at 04:07 PM
That is sick. I hate the imperfect tracking of the Wii. I'd play virtual boxing all day long if it actually knew where my damn fists were.
Posted by: Christopher Mims | January 08, 2008 at 05:05 PM
Doesn't the PS3's Eye Toy 2 (or whatever they call it) claim to already be able to do that?
Posted by: IAggrey41 | January 09, 2008 at 02:42 PM
looking for Cheap Wii Games
http://astore.amazon.com/buy.cheap.wii.games-20
Posted by: Cheapwii | July 03, 2008 at 03:20 AM