The whole Xbox team are ”gearing up towards” the next-gen of Natural User Interface techs, with contributions from across the board. They mention NUI advancement over in Haifa, Israel too.
Microsoft has hailed Kinect as allowing users to better interact with Xbox 360’s dashboard. With the arrival of SmartGlass it’s no surprise they want to improve it.
”Do you want to work on the future of Natural User Input as a member of the team that shipped Kinect for the Xbox 360?” asks the Software Development Engineer job ad, posted by the Interactive Entertainment Business. ”Do you have strong research skills and are passionate about engineering and product development?”
”The Xbox Platform Team is gearing up towards the next generation of Natural User Interface (NUI) technologies. We are the convergence zone of MSR, Incubation, Game Developers and the XBOX Platform, providing the building blocks for exciting new NUI experiences.”
This talk of NUI is echoed by their research labs in Haifa, Israel as they look for a senior electronic engineer to become a part of ”a fast growing team that is responsible for designing, building and delivering the devices and the innovative solution for Xbox and various future NUI applications.”
It continued: ”If you are passionate for electronic design of 3D imaging cameras which will serve millions throughout the world, we are offering a unique and great opportunity for talented people, to help us build and ensure our products meets the highest standards.” Kinect improvements have been ‘leaked’ in Xbox 720 design documents that show two sensors posted either side of the television increasing depth perception greatly.
We can only hope this means Kinect could play a more prominent and helpful role in gaming, and not be doomed to just sit there and get barked at for Bing searches.
