14 DAY TRIAL // Bing and Kinect is an extremely powerful NUI combination that delivers next generation user experiences unmatched by any of Microsoft’s rivals in the console space. By blending together the natural user interface capabilities of the Kinect sensor and of its decision engine, the Redmond company will enable Xbox 360 users to perform searches using nothing but their voice.
Molly O’Donnell, Xbox 360 director of marketing integration revealed that the software giant focused on not only taking the content available for Xbox gamers to the next level, but also on enhancing its discoverability.
“This is why Microsoft is introducing voice search with Bing on Xbox,” O’Donnell said. Using voice commands sent to Xbox 360 through Kinect, console owners will be able to use Bing to search materials from Netflix, Hulu+, ESPN, but also additional content, from music to video and Xbox LIVE marketplace items.
“When you think about the state of your entertainment media, the challenge of finding what you want is similar. You have games, movies, music, TV shows and other content on your console, through services like Netflix, Hulu, and Zune, and programming and on-demand options available through cable and satellite providers. Xbox alone is growing from hundreds of thousands of pieces of content to millions,” revealed Yusuf Mehdi, Senior Vice President, Bing.
Mehdi underlines that the Bing, Kinect and Xbox 360 triumvirate will usher in a revolution in terms of living room entertainment similar to that brought by search engines to the Web.
“By combining all this content with the power of Bing’s deep search expertise, Microsoft Tellme’s voice technology and the magic of Kinect, we’ll be able to provide instant access to the expansive catalogue of entertainment options on Xbox Live,” Mehdi added.
“You say it, Xbox finds it, and you can enjoy it faster. Voice search works across media types and across apps so you can focus on deciding what to enjoy rather than where and how to find it.”
In the video embedded below, make sure to jump ahead to about one hour an five minutes in, and watch the Bing on Xbox 360 demo that the Redmond company presented at E3.
And since the technology used by Microsoft with Kinect goes deeper than just voice, users will be able to rely on the sensor’s additional NUI capabilities, such as hand gestures, in order to perform tasks such as selecting, browsing or refining search results.
All of this is done without a keyboard, or any other traditional input device for that matter. The combination of Bing, Kinect and Xbox 360 is the closest thing to search magic that I’ve seen.
“Because you may have several viewing options, in this case, Xbox will prioritize your choices based on what you own or the services to which you are a subscriber, such as Netflix. Bing on Xbox will help you decide by giving you other options to consider such as High Definition and purchase price,” Mehdi added.
“This holiday season, voice search with Bing on Xbox will be available in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom, and within the next year, both voice control and voice search will be available in Australia, Canada (French), France, Germany, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and Spain.”