Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is in the process of designing a “depth sensing” camera, a precursor to a 3D camera, that can penetrate deeper inside images to “bridge the gap between the real and virtual world,” said Anil Nanduri, director of perceptual products and solutions at Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).
As of now, we have regular 2D cameras installed in laptops and devices, but this may soon transform into powerful 3D tools that can track users’ movement, emotions and even monitor reading habits of children, claims Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).
Intel says 3D capability may be available next year
Webcams will bring new levels of interactivity to 3D games, and make web conferencing more interesting by replacing backgrounds with green screen, says a report from PCWorld.
Nanduri further says that the new devices can add the ability to sense the user’s excitement or emotion, even whether he is happy or smiling. He added that there are algorithms and technologies that are getting better, and as it gets perfected, the technology will be launched to users.
Laptops and cameras, in the second half of 2014, will come with these sorts of depth cameras. External webcams like Senz3D external will be ported with these devices for the first time. Senz3D external webcam was a joint venture of Logitech and Intel and will be available in the coming quarters. Later this camera will be installed in tablets and smartphones, according to Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).
Areas where the technology will be helpful
The camera will be capable of recognizing characteristics, contours and shapes of items in view. For instance, 3D printing will go a step further with the camera sensing the ability of distance, size, depth, color, contours and other parameters of structures.
The camera will use eye tracking that can be used to sense how well a person is reading, which can further be used as an input to an evaluation tool. Through this technology, the camera could track reading, and reveal if kids are stuck on one word, how much they read or if they need any assistance with a particular word, according to Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC).
The other areas where it can deliver high performance are using a motion-sensing game where hands can be followed to pick up objects in the wider dimension of 3D games. The information gathered by the camera will be integrated with other features like voice recognition to enhance human-to-computer interaction.
“Having the capabilities to say — they read about 80 percent of the lines, they had difficulty with these words — that kind of intelligence for educational tools is phenomenal,” Nanduri said.
Nanduri feels that users will not need a keyboard and mouse once this technology reaches their devices.
