Xbox Project Natal

You Might of heard of Xbox's Project Called Natal
but do you really know what it is? Here are some FAQ of what its going to be like and a short video of what you might expect it to be. I was amazed when I first heard about it. It will be working for all Xbox 360 no matter which one you got. All you need it a Hard
Drive to support it. Sorry if its not the normal news blogs I post I wanted to post something different and something that people always ask me. I will be doing more of these if this gets a hit it won't be every week but it will be something worth sharing. Enjoy!

Project Natal is Microsoft's 3D camera for Xbox 360. It tracks people's
motions in three dimensions and has a microphone capable of voice
recognition. It is to be used as a controller-free method of playing
video games, tracking the player's body movements and voice and
transferring that information directly to the gaming console.

Microsoft has described the codename as having several sources. "The name
"Project Natal" has several sources. Microsoft Corp. traditionally uses
cities as code names. As a result, Alex Kipman, who incubated the
project and is from Brazil, chose Natal, a city along the northeastern
coast of Brazil, as a tribute to his country. In addition, he knew that
Natal also means "to be born" in Latin. Given the new audiences "Project
Natal" will bring to Xbox 360, this felt right."

When is it coming?

No official release date
has been offered by Microsoft. That said, you can expect it to release
in the latter half of 2010. The CEO of THQ, a third-party videogame
publisher and developer, mentioned this release window during a
financial call earlier this year. IGN has had this expected release
period confirmed by developers off of the record as well.

How does it work?

Project Natal uses an RGB camera, an infrared projector and a monochrome
CMOS sensor. The RGB camera tracks basic colors and enables features such
as Natal's ability to recognize faces. The infrared and CMOS sensors
work in tandem to create a 3D image of the room. Microsoft claims that it
is this combination of several sensory arrays that allow Natal to work in any
light condition.

This data is then combined with proprietary
algorithms to map a wire-frame skeleton of the player in real-time. It
is this extra layer of processing that allows Natal to continue working
even if something wanders between the player and the camera. This
wire-frame system also allows Natal to recognize four players at once
without getting overlapping limbs confused.

In addition to its visual sensors, Natal has a multiarray microphone that can "locate
voices by sound and extract ambient noise." This will allow for
individual voice recognition and headset-free chatting in online games.



How much will Natal cost?

At this time there is no information from Microsoft


Will Natal work with a PC?

As of today, Microsoft has only presented Natal as an Xbox 360 peripheral.
However, there is reason to believe that it will also be usable on your PC at
some point. Bill Gates has been quoted as saying that the Windows group
has "latched onto" Natal's technology and is eyeing it for use in home
entertainment and office applications.

Given the support for Windows PC that
Microsoft has offered to Xbox 360 peripherals in the past -- both the
Xbox 360 controller and Vision Camera work with Windows -- it seems
likely Natal drivers will be released at some point.

How is this different from Nintendo's Wii remote or Sony's upcoming motion
controller?

Natal is the only motion controller that doesn't actually use a controller at all.

Does Natal replace the XBL Vision Camera?

Though Microsoft has not explicitly stated that Natal replaces the Vision
Camera, that peripheral has already seen its support all but disappear.