Microsoft’s Project Natal

Everyone’s talking about it.

It was by far the biggest news to come out of the E3 video game expo last week, and it carries implications far beyond the world of gaming. Heck, even Steven Spielberg was on hand to help unveil it.

It’s called “Project Natal,” and it’s the code name for a new device that will one day soon hook into your Xbox 360 — but I’m betting Microsoft will find ways of putting it to use in other ways, too. The technology it uses is just too cutting-edge for it to have only one use. Take a look at the promotional video MS whipped up to introduce E3 journos to the overall concept. It shows off some examples of what this revolutionary device will make possible:

From Microsoft’s Project Natal fact sheet, here’s a list of the tech in question:

• Project Natal sensor. Project Natal is the world’s first system to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multiarray microphone, and custom processor running proprietary software… The Project Natal sensor tracks full-body movement and individual voices, creating controller-free fun and social entertainment available only on Xbox 360.
• RGB camera. Project Natal has a video camera that delivers the three basic color components. As part of the Project Natal sensor, the RGB camera helps enable facial recognition and more.
• Depth sensor. An infrared projector combined with a monochrome CMOS sensor allows Project Natal to see the room in 3-D (as opposed to inferring the room from a 2-D image) under any lighting conditions.
• Multiarray microphone. Project Natal has a microphone that will be able to locate voices by sound and extract ambient noise. The multiarray microphone will enable headset-free Xbox LIVE party chat and more.
• Custom processor (running Microsoft proprietary software layer). A proprietary software layer makes the magic of Project Natal possible. This layer differentiates Project Natal from any other technology on the market through its ability to enable human body recognition and extract other visual noise.

For Xbox 360 players, Project Natal represents controller-free gaming. No longer will you mash buttons or push tiny thumb joysticks. The built-in sensor tracks your body movement, recognizes your face, and understands your voice. The full-body mode of play it offers looks simple yet sophisticated enough to make the Nintendo Wii look stuck in the stone age.

Fable II creator Peter Molyneaux was on hand to hype Project Natal, and he put together this video that shows off the work his studio has been doing of late, experimenting with what Natal has to offer. The result is an interactive AI that proves to be an astounding simulation of real life.

So how else do you think Microsoft could put the Natal technology to use, outside of gaming? The first thing that jumps to my mind is that the much-hyped touch screen interfaces of the future may now be obsolete with a technology that recognizes mid-air gestures instead of requiring actual physical contact.

More information about Project Natal can be found here.

All photos by Robin Parrish.