Kinect is Bringing Augmented Reality to Brain Surgery

This video demonstrates a fascinating opportunity for using Kinect's augmented reality to help neurosurgeons perform complex brain surgeries. It's an exciting idea for these doctors, who face the challenging task of taking 2-D information and applying it to ... well, a human head.

Now, just imagine these capabilities with Google Glass? Oh, the places medicine will go!

World's First '4-D' Theme Park Opens in South Korea

Move over, Disney. The traditional theme park just doesn't cut it anymore.

Today's world demands even more interactivity for guests. Hence, the world's first "4-D" theme park: Live Park in South Korea. Live Park uses RFID and augmented reality technology to engage guests in a series of 65 attractions (that are actually 3-D).

D'strict, the interactive technology company that constructed the park, created its seven distinct stages using a huge array of RFID technology and Microsoft Kinects. As you see in the video, there's a lot of variety to the different attractions. In some, the Kinects enable guests to interact with augmented reality characters and holograms on huge screens and stages. In others, the guests create their own avatars, which interact with Live Park characters.

Over the next few years, D’strict plans to open similar theme parks in China and Singapore.

Hello Kinect for PCs, Goodbye Mouse and Keyboard?

Microsoft announced just a few weeks ago that Kinect for Windows will be finalized in 2012; since then, there's been a lot of speculation about what that means for desktop PCs. Now, the company is confirming that it's working on Kinect for PCs.

New developments will enable Kinect to detect movements as close as 50 cm to the PC screen--instead of across the living room.

While the possibilities are great, we're most excited about the prospect of a mouse- and keyboard-free future. Bring it, Microsoft!

Microsoft Working Toward Star Wars-style Augmented Reality Projectors

Any true Star Wars fan remembers it fondly: That intriguing holographic message from Princess Leia in A New Hope. It raised so many questions: Who is she? Who is Obi Wan Kinobi? And when are we going to be able to send holographic messages?

Surprisingly, that capability may be close at hand. Steve Clayton, the creator of a Microsoft research lab, began working on augmented reality projectors as a way to furniture shop--after all, the best way to decide on a new sofa is to see it holographically displayed in your living room. 

Sure, the technology has a long way to go before we're beaming ourselves into each other's homes for a quick chat. But it's still pretty fascinating: Using Kinect technology, the researchers are able create a virtual version of the real world, with back-and-forth interactions between the two. Check out the video to discover how they're doing it.

The View From Above: In Hard Focus Round-up (September 8, 2011)

AHNE – Audio-Haptic Navigation Environment from Matti Niinimäki on Vimeo.

Kinect helps you make sweet music, well sounds anyway: We cover a lot of Kinect applications for vision, but let’s not forget the other senses that can be engaged with this technology. Researchers in Helsinki have created a method to make sounds within a 3D space utilizing a Kinect sensor. Called Audio-Haptic Navigation Environment (AHNE), the system designates sounds, tone and volume based on one or more individuals’ positions in space. Not exactly symphony quality yet, but worth checking out. See video above via Engadget.

Photo compression technology allows for efficient photo storage: TechCrunch reports on a new startup, JPEGmini, which is pioneering a method for compressing JPEG photos for quicker sharing and more efficient storage. The technology, which can reduce overall file size by up to 5 times, imitates the way we analyze images in order to compress select portions of a photo that don’t contain “visible artifacts.” While professional photographers may not find this technology any better or cost effective than using RAW files and programs like Adobe Photoshop, there are many everyday uses where this method of compressing files could come in handy, especially in small devices like smartphones and cameras. 

Mobli takes photo filters and sharing to the next level: Mobli, a platform that allows users to “see the world through other people’s eyes” via a shared photos and video platform, is pushing ahead of competitors like Color with some interesting updates. Mashable reports that the new version, available now on Android and BlackBerry in addition to its original iPhone app, grants users a portal to take, share and view photos and video, which they can then tag or create filters for based on location-based data (such as check-ins at a concert or baseball game). What’s really interesting is the CEO’s vision behind the app: to create a visual diary experience through the lens of a smartphone… perhaps this vision seems way cooler when Paris Hilton is on-board.