Microsoft opens up the brains of Xbox One Kinect

Still not convinced by the potential of Xbox One Kinect? That might all change once you've taken a better glimpse into the new and improved sensor.

Microsoft has put out two new videos and a lot of explanation on its TechNet blog about overcoming Kinect's technological hurdles such as making sure it's accurate to the speed of light.

As Kareem Choudhry, development manager for Kinect, explains, "the full capability of Microsoft as a company comes together" to pull computer vision, machine learning, facial recognition and speech recognition together.

It's another example of Microsoft tapping into all areas of its intellectual limbs, as Forza 5's creative director explained to TechRadar this week.

We're shown an impressive demo of just how accurate the motion sensor is. "The first version was really about understanding gross human motion. We have true human understanding here and fidelity of expression," explains Choudhry.

Before your very eyes

There's also a look into how the new heart rate monitor works, literally reading someone's pulse through their face. This will be an especially big deal for the fitness aficionados.

The second video, meanwhile, looks closely at the eye of the Kinect camera and its improved 3D vision. We also get a better look at the Kinect's active IR which can recognise you in the dark. Very cool.

All in all, the new Kinect is a hell of a lot more accurate. Which is good news because Microsoft is really pushing the kit as a really integral part of the box.

We just hope we'll see game developers making the most of it.

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