IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - May 2018 - 100

This motion-controlled computing
has the potential to reduce
redundancies and workload
blockages in offices.
motion-controlled computing has the potential to reduce
redundancies and workload blockages in offices.

HOW DOES KINECT WORK?
The device's camera generates a three-dimensional moving
image of objects, which includes the user's hands as they
change positions. The camera uses infrared light to transmit
signals. In addition, Kinect's microphone captures voice
inputs that enable additional control over cyberfiles. The key
question arising from this, however, is whether the technology can enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of businesses.
Many anticipate that Kinect could transform many office
practices into far more productive operations.

WHAT ARE THE TECHNOLOGY'S APPLICATIONS?
Today, Kinect technology is effectively used in areas such as
defense, health care, and in the home. But what will happen
if hackers use it to steal personal data in the government or
financial spheres? Hackers have developed robots with the
mobile capability to respond to gestural commands [2]. This
game-based technology could give users an input capability
from 4 cm3 in scale every 10 m/s, but hackers could use this
technology only within these limits.
In the defense arena, the U.S. Army has used this technology
in their helicopters as a low-cost solution for smarter cockpits to
track pilots' body movements [3]. For example, Kinect devices
are capable of tracking the eye and finger movements of the
pilots and responding quickly to their needs during combat.
There are medical uses for this technology as well. With
it, surgeons are able to gain hands-free access to patient data
and modify them [4]. Kinect also supports smoother presentations in hospitals and empowers intelligent systems to monitor patients. Doctors' time and effort that would otherwise
be poured into manually manipulating images in a computer
are streamlined with Kinect technology [5]. The reduced use
of the hands to operate computers also helps to quell the
spread of germs. In addition, Kinect technology is being used
to detect autism in children [6]. It helps in monitoring children, detecting any signs of unusual behavior that might
result in a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
In the home, this technology can be used in security systems and to monitor pets and children [4]. It could even
remotely observe elderly people's movement in their home
setting and alert caregivers based on their posture and activity levels.
In terms of other fields that could benefit from Kinect
technology, we could look to education and the media. In
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schools, lecturers could use the devices to identify the facial
expressions and positive or negative reactions of the students
in laboratory-based classes. The teachers might then immediately adjust their presentations accordingly. Furthermore,
journalists could use Kinect in interviews. The device might
trace the facial expressions and body language of an interview subject, and the reporter would make necessary changes to the questions. All in all, considerable progress has been
made in the use of Kinect technology, but there is a great
deal of room for applying it in many other key areas of the
human experience.
After a few years, Kinect as a gaming system faded and
Microsoft canceled it. There were three main reasons for this:
the company did not offer enough excellent games for the platform, the device was characterized by what has been called 85%
magic and 15% frustration, and Kinect games required a great
deal of room space to play [7].
The fact that Kinect did not have enough games that were
suitable for and compatible with the technology produced a
wave of customer dissatisfaction; there were many poor customer reviews for an array of game titles, including numerous family entertainment and fitness training games.
Although Microsoft convinced many publishers to make
their games Kinect compatible, this did not lead to success.
This is because most game developers decided to produce
games with traditional controllers rather than with Kinect
sensors. The option for controlling the system with voice
and gesture has always been a fascinating but nevertheless
unorthodox and an uncomfortable feature of Kinect technology. The system requires users to pause a movie using their
voice or to log in to an account by standing in front of the
camera, unusual practices given that such technology has
been traditionally controlled by hand.
In addition, Kinect gaming became less effective as more
people used it. It required so much room space for the software to interpret multiple users' hand gestures and voice signals that furniture needed to be moved. Moreover, the Kinect
camera's scope of interpretation was mostly undefined. For
example, Kinect-based products that are used to entertain children see and record not only the players but the children and
adult bystanders as well. This brought into question ethical
and privacy issues.

THE FUTURE OF KINECT TECHNOLOGY
Kinect technology has been used in gaming consoles to create whole-body virtual reality, to track movement, map room
layouts, create autonomous robots, translate sign language
into text, and diagnose depression. This may indicate that
Kinect has a sound future, where this continues to be extended into several areas of human endeavor. Since Kinect is a
technology that does not require physical human touch or
direct human interaction, it could facilitate all kinds of telecommuting. It might also be used effectively in sports-related
areas such as cricket, where the movements of players could
be effectively tracked to display signals such as no ball, run
out, and so on. This may relieve the strain on the umpires and

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - May 2018