Posted on Thursday, June 06 2013 @ 23:12 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
The Tech Report
writes Intel is developing a webcam/depth cam combo for notebooks, enabling Kinect-like interfacing on a broad range of computers.
Systems that use this new device should hit the market in the second half of 2014.
The camera fits nicely with the "perceptual computing" effort Intel introduced at IDF last year. You won't have to wait until 2014 to get a taste of what's possible, though. Skaugen also introduced Creative's Senz depth camera, which is due to hit retail shelves in the third quarter. Software written for the Creative product will be fully supported by Intel's own camera unit. Developers can apparently get early access, too. Intel is selling the camera as part of a developer kit for $149.
At 4.3" x 2" x 2.1", the Senz is far too bulky to fit inside a laptop bezel. However, you can clip it on top of one.
The Creative camera combines a 720p webcam with a lower-resolution, 340x240 depth sensor. Data is captured at 30 FPS, and the range is 0.5-3.25 feet. Audio is piped into the system via dual microphones.
