Kinect could come to smartphones, says Microsoft exec.

Siri-killer Cortana runs on Kinect code, reveals general manager of Xbox apps.


The technology that comprises Xbox One's Kinect may ultimately come to smartphones, according to Microsoft's general manager of Xbox applications and developer relations Michael Mott. In fact, it's already here.

Speaking to SlashGear at the Build 2014 conference last week, Mott outlined how Kinect will evolve in the months and years to come. In brief: the costs will fall and the functionality will spread to other devices.
"I think there's two things," he began. "We've been pioneering this Natural User Interface, and it's been delivered to you and to customers mostly through Xbox and through a device.

"But we know and we've seen what happened with devices that they get smaller, they get cheaper, they get embedded, and then they get spread across. The camera's a perfect example: you used to get a bad camera, now you get a 41-megapixel camera in your Nokia."

"So I could see the hardware itself and some of the power that the microphone array and the cameras and sensors coming down in cost," Mott went on. "The other piece is the software, and the software just gets smarter about understanding what kind of quality of data you've got.

"And even if it's imperfect, if can now algorithmically understand that, "okay, well if you're moving your arm this far, and I miss something along the way, you're probably going to move your arm the rest of the way."

Once the software and hardware are sufficiently economical and refined, it's possible that Kinect's current level of motion tracking will eventually be supported by mobiles, webcams and the like, Mott suggested.

"I think software will allow us to translate both what it captures and how it projects that into whatever application better," he said. "And that's why, when [EVP of Operating Systems] Terry Myerson talked about Kinect being the future, I think that was his shorthand for saying the natural user interface that we're building - through a combination of hardware that will come down in cost and move across devices, and software that will get smarter and be more ubiquitous across platforms - that's where I think you'll see these things move into phones, and tablets, and so forth."

Microsoft's "Cortana" app for Windows Phone 8.1 - a virtual assistant modelled on Master Chief's AI accomplice/romantic interest/surrogate daughter/mother - makes use of the same techno-wizardry as Kinect, Mott pointed out.

"I think that the nice thing is that the walls are coming down," he went on. "Which means that, when you build a conversational, voice-driven interface, it can work on all of your devices. So I think it's on the phone today because that's where people can most readily get the benefit, whereas I think when we go forward people will start to expect it."

"A lot of the technology we use for voice recognition and translating that into action is the same underlying technology that's behind Cortana. So I think you'll see us do that; I think you'll see the same thing that we do, everything we're learning on the TV with Kinect, is then translating into the natural user interface capabilities that we can put on the phone.
"For example, on Xbox, you sign in based on facial recognition. Your phone should just unlock when you look at it. Wouldn't that be nice? It seems obvious."

According to a report from last November, Xbox One's Kinect sensor costs $75 to manufacture. Naturally, a reduction in manufacturing cost might pave the way for another Xbox One price cut.

Source Total Xbox.