Kinect Hacks: Monkeying around with 1:1 movement

@timbots Wire this up to a virtual presence device and you're all set.

@kurian2z5 Sheldon Cooper, Phd-bot.

@NuHalo

This Kinect hack + Mirror's Edge = ???

@mrmobius Uncanny valley states that when something synthetic becomes too realistic it causes feelings of disgust.
I am not seeing that one bit in this video.

@mrmobius

The movements are almost like real life, but because it is some guy stationary moving his upper body, the game is trying to mimic both his movements, and the natural movements that happen on an actual monkey bars. It looks sort of unnatural when combined as he isn't standing as he would be when hanging.

That's all I meant.

@mrmobius

If you need further explanation of what uncanny valley is please watch the movie Polar Express.

@Anticrawl

I just got the shivers.

@NukeAssault

Creepier than Dead Space 2.

@mrmobius
You are right, and everyone who down voted you is wrong:

"Mori's hypothesis states that as a robot is made more humanlike in its appearance and motion, the emotional response from a human being to the robot will become increasingly positive and empathic, until a point is reached beyond which the response quickly becomes that of strong revulsion. However, as the appearance and motion continue to become less distinguishable from a human being, the emotional response becomes positive once more and approaches human-to-human empathy levels.[7]"

Basically, humans only feel a certain level of "disgust" when something is approaching realism, but there's something about it that is just off. It's not super realistic yet because of some issue. In this case, it's the animation that you were talking about. Another example would be ridiculously realistic 3D models of actors, that are totally convincing until the bad lip syncing animation starts. THAT'S uncanny valley.

The theory says the exact opposite of how RobberBoy stated it, as once it gets to the "too realistic" stage, humans begin to relate to and empathize with the synthetic medium.

@TheTallMan They won't do anything. I mean, when was the last time you saw something really innovative come from the Kinect from beg developers. Even the Wii, which has been out for so long, has barely done anything new. There was the balance board, but that's used for what, fitness games and Raving Rabbids? I'd love to see a developer really do something new and do it well, but I just don't see it happening.

@TheTallMan
We'll probably get shovelware from the big guys.

@YimYimYimi That is why he said "Indie Developers" specifically. I am inclined he means the inde developers that use XNA and launch things through the "Indie Marketplace". The same marketplace you find games for under 5$ that are often more entertaining than blockbuster hits.

@YimYimYimi
What do you mean by "since when"? The kinect hardware has not been out long enough, nor has enough software been released to warrant a "since when".

@Xupmatoih

Not all of them work in the news section but if you tab over to the video section they should always work.

@MEMgrizzlies7
*to make the tech demos

@MEMgrizzlies7
Yes, because this would have sold several million units.
Not implying that this isn't cool, but the hacks we've seen have hardly been the kind of stuff which would get the average consumer giddy with excitement.

@SmokemeaKipper Cardio, cardio, cardio.

@Rymix
The source is not available, but we're planning a release of a binary edition for non-commercial use this week or next. Keep an eye on our blog at http://www.activate3d.com/blog/ for more info.

dba

@mcbexx Already been done I cant copy/paste links on wii so just google it Ms has already denied it.

@Enosoma
That video was a single take, so there's no editing on it other than the voiceover and splashscreens. I can't recall if I got it right the first take though. :) I probably recorded a couple and picked the best to make it look good for the website.

I do that demo live at presentations though. It works well, and we'll keep making it better.

dba