Rumor: Microsoft close to buying 3DV Systems

CNET writes Microsoft is reportedly close to acquiring 3DV Systems for $35 million. This Israeli startup is working on video recognition technology that enables you to control objects on your screen by making hand gestures, it uses a depth-sensing camera to record your motions. Perhaps this is what Microsoft has in mind for a future console:

Speaking at the 2007 D: All Things Digital conference, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates suggested that Microsoft was thinking along the same lines as 3DV in terms of where gaming was headed.

"Imagine a game machine where you're just going to pick up the bat and swing it, or the tennis racket and swing it," Gates said.

Moderators Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher mocked Gates, saying such a technology already exists and it's called the Wii. But Gates disagreed. "No, that's not it. You can't pick up your tennis racket."

He later added, "You can't sit there with your friends and do those natural things," he said. "That's a 3D positional device. This is video recognition. This is a camera seeing what's going on."

Here's a demo of 3DV's technology: