14 DAY TRIAL // In the short time that passed since its introduction, Microsoft's Kinect controller proved itself to be a huge success confirming that motion-sensing is the way of the future, so other companies have starting developing similar technologies, Optrima just announcing they will unveil the world’s first embedded 3D camera at CES 2011.
Similar to the Kinect, this camera is built for gesture-based applications such as video games and interactive, touch and controller-less user interfaces, but comes in a much more compact size, enabling manufacturers to embed it into a wide array of products such as set-top-boxes and television platforms.
According to Optrima, their camera can deliver low lag and instant user feedback even on low CPU systems thanks to the company's proprietary DepthSense time-of-flight technology.
Furthermore, the low-cost CMOS sensor won't add too much to the final price of the product.
As far as its specifications go, the DepthSense image sensor features low temporal noise, low illumination power, cross talk, high frame rates (above 100fps), for high precision motion sensing, as well as background light suppression.
“The availability of a high-performance, low-cost 3D camera with built-in audio and video will dramatically contribute to the adoption of 3D gesture-based interfaces and applications by consumers,” said Andre Miodezky, CEO of Optrima.
“We’re very excited to be the first company to bring such a product to the market and look forward to working with our customers to bring the product to the market in 2011,” concluded Optrima's rep.
Although the company hasn't announced any partnerships yet with major device manufacturers, the camera will be on display at CES 2011.
Given its strong feature list and low-costs, the DepthSense technology could prove itself to be a hit among HDTV and STB manufacturers, ushering in a new era of device interaction for all of us.