Project Natal

The Project Natal sensor device.

Project Natal (pronounced [naˈtal], nah-tahl) is the code name for a "controller-free gaming and entertainment experience" by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game platform. Based on an add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console, Project Natal enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller through a natural user interface using gestures, spoken commands,^[1] or presented objects and images. The project is aimed at broadening the Xbox 360's audience beyond its typically hardcore base.^[2] Project Natal was first announced on June 1, 2009 at E3 2009. Microsoft said that over a thousand software development kits began shipping to game developers that same day.^[2]

Though Microsoft has not officially announced any price or release date projections for Project Natal,^[3][2][4] it is expected to be released in late 2010.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10]} Project Natal will reportedly also serve as the basis for a "new" Xbox 360.^{[fn 1]}

Sensor

The Project Natal sensor^[1] is an approximately 9-inch (23 cm) wide horizontal bar^[18] connected to a small circular base with a ball joint pivot, and is designed to be positioned lengthwise above or below the video display. The device features an "RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone, and custom processor running proprietary software",^[1] which provides full-body 3D motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition capabilities. The Project Natal sensor's microphone array enables the Xbox 360 to conduct acoustic source localization and ambient noise suppression, allowing for things such as headset-free party chat over Xbox Live.^[1]

The depth sensor consists of an infrared projector combined with a monochrome CMOS sensor, and allows the Project Natal sensor to see in 3D under any ambient light conditions.^[1][19] The sensing range of the depth sensor is adjustable, with the Project Natal software capable of automatically calibrating the sensor based on gameplay and the player's physical environment, such as the presence of chairs.^[20]

Project Natal is reportedly based on software technology developed internally by Microsoft and hardware intellectual property acquired from time-of-flight camera developer 3DV Systems.^{[7][14][21][22][23][24]} Before agreeing to sell all its assets in March 2009,^[25] 3DV had been preparing its own depth-sensing webcam controller, known as the ZCam.^{[26][fn 2]}

Described by Microsoft personnel as the primary innovation of Project Natal,^{[29][14][24][30]} the software technology enables advanced gesture recognition, facial recognition, and voice recognition.^[22] The skeletal mapping technology shown at E3 2009 was capable of simultaneously tracking up to four users for motion analysis,^{[14][19][22][31]} with a feature extraction of 48 skeletal points on a human body at a frame rate of 30 hertz.^[20][31] Depending on the person's distance from the sensor, Project Natal is capable of tracking models that can identify individual fingers.^[19][22]

Software

Three technical demos were shown to showcase Project Natal when it was revealed at Microsoft's E3 2009 Media Briefing:^[32]

• Ricochet – a Breakout-like game in which the entire body is used to bounce balls at blocks.
• Paint Party – where the player can make throwing motions to splash or draw with paint onto a wall. He/she can choose colors using speech recognition, and can pose to make stencils.
• Milo and Kate – a full game in development by Lionhead Studios^[33] in which the player interacts with a young child (Milo or Milly, selected by the user at the start) and his/her dog Kate by performing real-life actions. Interaction was demonstrated only with Milo at this event.^[34]

A demo based on Burnout Paradise has also been shown outside of Microsoft's media briefing, which allows the player to use an invisible steering wheel to control the vehicle. At the Tokyo Game Show 2009, further demos involving adaptations of Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme have also been shown. Project team members have been experimentally adapting numerous games to Project Natal-based control schemes to help evaluate usability.^[35] According to creative director Kudo Tsunoda, the addition of Project Natal-based control to games through software updates is not likely, given the significant code alterations involved.^[36]

As of September 2009^[update], publishers actively working on games for Project Natal account for over 70 percent of third-party software sales for the current generation of video game consoles.^[37] Games indicated to include Project Natal functionality include EA Sports Grand Slam Tennis^[38] and Fable III.^[39]

Code name

The name Project Natal follows in Microsoft's tradition of using cities as code names.^[1] Microsoft director Alex Kipman, who incubated the project,^[31] chose to name it after the Brazilian city Natal as a tribute to his country of origin,^[1] and because the word natal means "of or relating to birth", reflecting Microsoft's view of the project as "the birth of the next-generation of home entertainment".^[14]

See also

• PlayStation Eye
• PlayStation Motion Controller
• Wii MotionPlus
• Wii Remote
• Xbox Live Vision

Notes

References

External links

• Project Natal
• Project Natal channel at YouTube (requires Adobe Flash)