Extreme Reality's "Extreme Motion" concept art. Captures 3D motion from a 2D camera. (Via Extremem Reality)
The world of 2D webcams just picked up another dimension. The company responsible, Extreme Reality, is showing off their new software that converts images from any plug-in or built-in webcam into a 3D motion tracker at CES. The company says its software will reproduce the same accuracy or better compared to expensive 3D cameras with depth sensors. Not only can you save cash using inexpensive webcams for gesture tracking, but you can program your own games using the platform, which can be accessed for free if the company accepts your request for development.
The Extreme Motion platform can be used to program 3D motion tracking to any Android or iOS device. The company has developed a racing game, a dance game and virtual tennis that demonstrate Extreme Motion’s abilities. The platform can be adapted to work on TVs, PCs, smart phones or tablets; pretty much anything with a video camera.
Extreme Reality also offers something called the Extreme UI. This interface allows the user to use pre-programmed gestures to control a PC. The user can drag and drop items, open and close programs and swipe through web pages by natural, intuitive gestures. Users can also customize and define new gestures for specific applications. This interface can also replace your mouse by allowing you to perform all its functions with your hands.
For an idea of system requirements needed to run Extreme Motion, their PandaMania game (dancing) works on an Intel core i5 1.5GHz and is compatible with any standard camera with minimum of 640/480 VGA resolution (same res as the Kinect's RGB and IR cameras. I wonder if this system could work with Kinect for Windows - better or worse?). This game currently runs only on Samsung devices using Windows 7 or Windows 8.
The system works well registering body motions up to 17 ft away (5 m). The program calculates the position of all joints every frame so error is corrected immediately and motion is represented seamlessly in real time. It is not sensitive enough to register finger motion at this range but with time and more developers improving upon it, it will surely get better.
Now for an overt - overview...
Cabe
