Virtual Fashion Dressing Room - de Bijenkorf.

Bron; www.fonkonline.nl

De Bijenkorf introduceert als try-out een virtuele paskamer met 3D-techniek. Klanten hoeven kleding niet meer fysiek te passen, maar kunnen digitaal ervaren hoe de nieuwe zomercollectie hen staat. Vanaf dinsdag 15 april reist de virtuele paskamer langs vier filialen om bezoekers kennis te laten maken met deze vooruitstrevende techniek.

‘De Bijenkorf is de eerste die bezoekers laat kennismaken met de innovatieve toepassing van de virtuele paskamer. Een primeur in Nederland en zelfs ver daarbuiten’, aldus Robert Bohemen, Directeur Marketing van de Bijenkorf. 

De virtuele paskamer is gebaseerd op Kinect-technologie. De bezoeker van de Bijenkorf ziet zichzelf op een groot scherm dat met bewegingen in de lucht wordt bediend. Bij deze try-out is er keus uit de nieuwe zomercollectie kleding en accessoires (zoals hoeden en tassen) voor dames en heren. 

Geïnteresseerden kunnen de komende periode zelf testen hoe het is om virtueel kleding te passen. Van de digitale passessie kan gemakkelijk een foto gemaakt worden. Deze wordt direct toegemaild en kan gedeeld worden via social media.

Amsterdam: 15 t/m 20 april
Den Haag: 22 t/m 27 april
Rotterdam: 29 april t/m 4 mei
Eindhoven 5 t/m 11 mei

Virtual Dressingroom

Interactive virtual try on experience in Switzerland.

 

Interactive’s Social Health Suite.

We are very proud of the interactive walls, floors and displays we’ve developed for hospitals and clinics throughout the country. Recently, Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows team was so inspired by our work at Alex’s Place, a children’s oncology unit at the University of Miami, that they produced this heartwarming video about the clinic and the power of our Character Mirror powered by Kinect for Windows. Watch the video above and check out the Kinect for Windows blog to read more about it.

In the Studio, we often find ourselves talking about the transformative power of gesture and touch technology in our work and daily lives, which people are beginning to call Natural User Interface. In October, our very own Scott Snibbe was invited to speak on a panel at the Seattle Interactive Conference that addressed these same themes and asked the question: where is this technology going? There are some very interesting answers and the Kinect for Windows team writes up a great summary on their site. You can read more about the event here.

Last week I downloaded DoubleFine's Kinect-based Happy Action Theater/Kinect Party,  to use during some group activities with students I work with who have significant disabilities (including severe autism).  I wish I had discovered this suite of games sooner!

I had loads of fun with students and colleagues as we explored some of the 36 creative, and sometimes zany, minigames.  I had heard that DoubleFine had launched something special, but didn't realize how awesome it was until I spent some serious playful time with it at home last weekend. I then tried it out at work this past week.  

If you are planning to explore Happy Action Theater/Kinect party, keep in mind that it plays best when there are at least two people and an audience to cheer everything along.  Through the use of blob detection algorithms, the games can handle up to 6 players at a time, which is perfect for small-group special classes.

The following trailer gives just a little hint of what this suite of mini-games is all about!



I noted that many of the games were effective in helping students become more aware of their peers. They began to play and interact with one-another in ways I hadn't previously imagined.  I especially liked the fact that many of the mini-games made it possible for students in wheelchairs to participate.  

More information here

Xbox One and Kinect 2 for the Playground of the Future.

From what I learned, the new Kinect sensor has six times the fidelity of the previous version. Paired with the new Xbox One, it can do amazing things.  Engineers from around the world collaborated on this project, providing expertise in facial recognition, digital signal processing, speech recognition, machine learning, and computer vision.  The Xbox One is fueled by an 8-core x86 processor, supported by 8GB of RAM, which is sure to handle the hardest gamer's needs. It also includes a 500GB hard drive and an HD Blu-ray player.

The new system was designed to enhance the gaming/user experience. The 1080p camera provides a field of view that is 60 degrees larger than its  predecessor, and can handle a high level of detail.  It provides a better means of interpreting movement and orientation, and it processes skeleton and hand movements more precisely.  The system features "muscle man", a human-based physics model that is layered over the skeleton and depth map. It senses and calculating the forces the player uses while moving in a game. 

What I find interesting is that the camera can detect the player's pulse by measuring subtle changes of the skin that can't be perceived by the naked eye.  It also can quickly identify each player (it handles up to six), and identify facial expressions.  The active IR (infrared) system provides the system with better accuracy than the original Kinect. 

I wasn't able to find out much information regarding privacy issues with this system.  This is a concern, since it can sense your physiological responses, movement patterns, and facial expressions.  Over time, a good deal of very personal information would be gathered about each user. I shudder to think about the consequences if the data fell into the wrong hands.  

Possibilities for Special Needs Populations

I can see that the Xbox One + Kinect 2 system has the potential for games and other interactive applications for use in physical rehabilitation and fitness.  Since it can interpret facial expressions, it could also provide a way to support social skills learning among children and teens who have autism spectrum disorders.

Microsoft invests a good deal of attention to proof-of-concept projects that may or not become part of a commercial product.  Below is an example of IllumiRoom:

Winscape virtual window makes the leap to Kinect in 4K-capable.

RationalCraft brought its surreal Winscape virtual window to market when the Wii was virtually the only game in town for affordable motion tracking. Microsoft's Kinect has certainly changed the rules of the game since then, so it's almost natural that a fourth-generation Winscape has just launched to make use of the much more sophisticated sensor. For a start, there's no need to dress like Flavor Flav anymore: the camera can recognize anyone, even passers-by, without an oversized necklace. The larger-than-life footage used to generate the window effect has been given its own bump, too, and the app can now handle 4K video as long as the Mac underneath (sorry, Windows folks) is powerful enough to drive it. For those who truly want to be disconnected from reality, there's even six-display support provided it's all hooked up to a Mac Pro and a pair of three-output Radeon HD 5770 video cards. RationalCraft's software is free to try out now, although the requirement for at least two big TVs, a Kinect controller and a fast Mac should say all there is to know about the practical cost of pretending the Golden Gate Bridge is visible from inside a living room in Amsterdam.