Microsoft Kinect: The AnandTech Review
by Brian Klug on December 9, 2010 3:20 PM ESTKinect Interaction
The primary interactions with Kinect are pretty simple, there are really only a handful of gestures. To start using Kinect from the normal dashboard, or pretty much anywhere, you wave your hand. That lets Kinect lock onto which hand you’re going to use to gesture with, and it applies almost everywhere - be prepared to do a lot of waving. Waving in the normal dashboard brings up the Kinect dashboard, which is essentially a Kinect-specific ‘lite’ version of the main dashboard. It’s a bit disappointing that Kinect doesn’t nicely bolt onto the main dashboard, but all the core functions like launching games and doing Kinect specific tasks are covered.
Inside the Kinect dashboard, you can navigate around and interact with your hands, or by saying “Xbox” and any of the words on the dashboard. It works pretty well, but honestly I haven’t found myself using voice very much.
Selection is done by holding your hand over an item - a progress circle rings around and chimes, letting you know you’ve made a selection. Moving from page to page on the Kinect dashboard involves hovering over the arrows at left and right and swiping appropriately. It’s probably the only gesture I don’t really think is perfect, but it works.
The next main gesture is universal pause, which involves holding your right arm at your side, and sticking your left arm out at 45 degrees. Holding it there also brings up the progress circle and chime, and then pops up the game menu.
This is essentially analogous to pressing the center Xbox button on a controller, though Microsoft calls this the Kinect Guide, from here you use the hand gestures and selection to either escape out to the dash, return, view awards, or launch the Kinect tuner. That’s really all there is to it, as further gestures are game and activity specific but always pretty intuitive. I've put together a small video showing off interaction and navigation, and a small tour of some of the Kinect apps.
Voice Commands
When I first saw the Kinect voice commands, there was a lot of talk about other players being able to effectively troll Kinect users by yelling “Xbox Pause” or “Xbox Stop.” I randomly would shout that, and found it interesting that there aren’t too many - abruptly stop and exit what I’m doing - voice commands, and especially not any in games. Most of the time, you have to say yes afterwards, so if you want to troll, say “Xbox Pause Yes.” In fact, outside of the dashboard and a few of the Kinect-specific apps like Zune, Last.fm, and ESPN, there really aren’t a whole lot of voice command areas.
I guess that’s a good enough segue into the apps and games themselves. The first thing you should know is that everything requires an update - that’s not hyperbole, literally everything seems to require a 50 MB update. That’s all the Kinect-specific applications like Zune, Last.fm, videoKinect, and ESPN. Games also all require updates, but they’re smaller. 50 MB is about average for all the other applications, however.
I realize it’s nit-picking to complain about updates, but the whole process would be much more bearable if it was one monolithic update at the beginning instead of the scatter-shot frustration of having to wait every time you try something new. It isn’t PS3 level, where you literally need another console or distraction to occupy yourself with while you wait for device firmware, then game updates to apply, but I’d be lying if I didn’t think about how eerily similar the situation is.
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Aloonatic - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
I come from the UK, where we have very expensive homes that somehow still have average room sizes that are so small that Guantánamo Bay residents would think that their lodgings were spacious loft apartments in comparison, so I was wandering if anyone has tried tinkering with the placement of Kinect?As every inch counts (no sniggering at the back) has anyone tried placing this on a wall mounting above and behind a TV? I'm guessing that there might be issues with the TV itself obscuring the device's field of view, but it might just work if moved high enough?
Love the idea of Kinect, and could just about find the space as recommended on the box, but I am not sure that I have the room that Anand recommends. :(
Oh, and will Kinect be used on the next generation xBox too? Might have to wait for Kinect 2, which will hopefully work in smaller rooms, if there ever is such a device.
DesktopMan - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Original release Wiimote only had a 3-axis accelerometer. Motion plus didn't add a three-axis gyro until 2009. Even calling it six-axis with the gyro is stretching the definition of six-axis as it can't detect motion with constant speed unless the IR camera is pointing towards the motion bar. (Same is true for the PS3 "6-axis" controller of course. It's not six axis, it's 3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyro.)DesktopMan - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Motion bar should of course have been sensor bar. Why is there no edit button ;)gvaley - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
There are all in all 3 (three) axes in a three dimensional world and this is exactly what we are existing in. Everything else is marketing nonsense.DesktopMan - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Quite. Though this is what they're actually somewhat referring to:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_degrees_of_freedo...
But neither wiimote with motion plus nor ps3 6-axis actually allows you to track all types of motion in 3 dimensions. So it's false either way :)
gvaley - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Imagine if marketers actually respected the principals of the language, "do not use a random expression in lieu of another expression just because it's shorter" for one. "Degrees of freedom" is quite different from "axes." All robots boo.landerf - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
Is the lag due to processing or camera frame rate? As i understand it the 360 does the processing with a cap of 10% cpu usage. So I'd then assume on the pc it could have better response time. Also can it be powered by usb 3 and or 2 on the pc? Without the need for the power plug.brundleflyguy - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
I notice in the review it says "On the other hand, there's no possible way that Kinect would ever work in the average dorm room - you really do need 9' - 12' behind the TV to play with two people." Do you mean "in front of the TV"?I'm wondering because I'm using a projector. The projector is about five feet behind me on the ceiling, and the Xbox would be about four feet behind me. The wall on which I projected is about 10 feet in front of me. Would this setup work for the Kinect?
Thanks,
Jim
Gonemad - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
My guess is, if you are using a projector, you should put Kinect in front of you... if there is enough cable length.Those applications that take a picture of your face would be taking a picture of your... haircut?
Good point! Inquiring minds...
Now, from what I could understand... Kinect will fit right in places that have pool tables, basketball courts, large mess halls... places with plenty of room. My condo has a gym, it wouldn't be misplaced there. So much for enjoying private gaming at home. This thing would fit right in old style arcades!
On another note, kids jumping in apartments... think about that.
Well, the Wii had lanyards, to prevent damage to your TV. Can you attach lanyards to your limbs?
Trolling possibilities / funny ideas:
1- Your pedantic little brother rushes behind you, just to throw Kinetic off.
2- Your mom learns learns how to shutdown your Xbox by talking to it, if she ever reads this article.
3- Trash talking... with your hips. Girls know that pretty well. Do the chicken dance!
4- Not only air guitar and air drums... air orchestra. Air violin. FTW.
Scary thoughts:
1a. Hackers find a way into Kinect and can record you at home.
1b. You hack into your own Kinect and turn it into a full fledged PTZ surveillance camera.
1c. You find out that you can build your own Kinect with industrial cameras, and it will work 20 times better... at 200 times the cost.
1d. You find out that you can use Kinect outside a Xbox360, cutting costs in special cameras for industrial inspection (that cost above $20k easily).
1e. You find out you could have done everything Kinect does with a regular webcam, and a range finder pulled from a parking sensor, costing you just 10 bucks.
1f. Fighting games? Judo? Karate? Jiu-Jitsu? Tae-kwon-do? Be sure your boots are strapped tight. Roundhouse-kick your sofa's gotta hurt. Street Fighter 7?
SlyNine - Friday, December 10, 2010 - link
"Your pedantic little brother " are you sure you know what that word means ? Seems to me little brothers would be less then pedantic, unless your little brother is an egg head.