Infrared Tech Expert On Project Natal

11 Jun 2009 at 10:46:33 by

After reports claiming Project Natal would have problems recognising darker skin colours, Microsoft released a statement saying the software would "obviously work with people of all shapes and ethnicities at launch."

We were concerned, we're not going to lie to you, about the implications this could cause if the camera and software were released with these problems, so we contacted Professor Harvey Rutt from the University of Southampton, and a bit of a legend where laser technology is concerned.

Asked whether there was really any reason to worry, Prof. Harvey told IncGamers the technology used, Near Infrared "will be much more vulnerable to skin colour changes than ‘mid’ or ‘far’ infrared."

Although the technology for Near Infrared is "FAR cheaper" than other technologies, Prof. Harvey said it was unlikely to cause real issues.

"I would be surprised if it was a big problem; it's possible the software might need to adapt to skin colour; you might need to think a bit about camera sensitivity and illumination intensity and spectrum to ensure it works over a range of races; that’s engineering; of course most of what it sees is clothes anyway – I assume!

"But tracking hands & face will be especially important."

We'll have more on this when we get it, but if your skin is that little bit darker, there doesn't seem to be anything to worry about.