While we’re still getting to grips with making the current Kinect sensor do all our voice-controlled bidding, Microsoft’s next-gen Kinect, to be bundled with the Xbox One, is even more advanced.
So advanced, in fact, that The Verge reports on a patent that was filed in 2011. In it, Microsoft details plans for the Kinect to be used for monitoring viewers while they enjoy the odd spot of TV. Microsoft’s language in the patent refers to the current TV usage model as being passive, and doesn’t “provide opportunities for a viewer to engage with programming.”
And how would you, Microsoft, make the TV viewing experience more interactive? Well, add achievements to the mix.
“To increase interactive viewing and encourage a user to watch one or more particular items of video content, awards and achievements may be tied to those items of video content,” says the patent application.
Give people that sweet, sweet Gamerscore for just watching some TV. Or enduring the latest Windows 8 advert.
Suddenly, the Xbox One’s deep TV integration starts making sense. Just remember that this is all just a patent application and Microsoft could be copyrighting it so that other, more evil corporations don’t.
Source
The Verge
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