Next XBox to get 360-degree interactive display, depth sensor?

Published September 12, 2012 9:08am

A 360-degree interactive display and a new depth sensor may soon be the next big thing in video games, if a new patent filed by Microsoft for its next Xbox is any indication.

The display can potentially turn a bedroom or living room into a full 3-D game environment, according to a report on ComputerandVideoGames.com.

"Crucially, the device will also boast a 3D depth camera, which it appears can calculate the player's position by emitting infrared light patterns and registering where the player is blocking the signal. This is a similar technique used for Kinect," it said.

But CVG.com said the patent —as discovered by PatentlyApple.com— may go further, using Kinect's 3D camera to calculate the posture and movements of the player.

These features may go together with the rumored 3-D Kinect Glasses.

"Players could feasibly fill their rooms with full 360-degree displays, interact with a game world not just on their TV but across the walls around them, and observe 3D holograms within the room through the Kinect Glasses," it said.

Under the technology, the camera determines where the player is looking by sending signals to the glasses, similar to how Nintendo's Wii locates its remote.

CVG.com said this may provide great possibilities in interactive entertainment.

"The combined devices will, in theory, will provide the most sophisticated tracking data on where the player is standing and looking," it said.

Immersive display environment

The patent indicated Microsoft is working on "an immersive display environment is provided to a human user by projecting a peripheral image onto environmental surfaces around the user."

Such peripheral images serve as an extension to a primary image displayed on a primary display.

Microsoft said the user "may enjoy an immersive 3-D experience using suitable headgear, such as active shutter glasses configured to operate in synchronization with suitable alternate-frame image sequencing at primary display and environmental display." — TJD, GMA News

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