Legal Niches

Microsoft Says No Sign Language Support For Kinect

By james_fudge

Earlier this week Game Politics reported that Microsoft's Kinect would be able to recognize sign language - at least according to some patents that were unearthed. Today a spokesperson for Microsoft denied the story, or at least support for sign language in its motion sensing technology for Xbox 360 coming out this fall.

So why would a patent point to such technology if it didn't exist? Because it does exist, but support for it was apparently dropped to keep the cost of Kinect low. A source with understanding of Kinect's development told Kotaku that it was dumped "because the version of the hardware that'll be available later this year isn't as capable as was originally intended."

In other words, the technology isn't as powerful as it used to be because Microsoft decided to use cheaper components- Specifically, the camera which now has a lower resolution. Read More

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on August 12, 2010 (boomark / email).