Microsoft Patents Holodeck Technology

We heard tell a few months back that Kinect sensors were being used to replicate holograms for medical professionals and the like, but now it seems that Microsoft has deemed us mortals worthy enough for their state-of-the-art laser technology, having filed a patent on a device which could simulate a virtual environment right in your own living room.

Rumors have been circulating that the latest Kinect hardware will come in the form of 3D glasses, tentatively titled Fortaleza, which would be able to recognize and give impressions of three-dimensional objects in your environment. The glasses are purportedly intuitive enough to tell which way you’re looking and generate simulation based on the wearer’s movements. In conjunction with a 3D depth camera mounted on your television, the senors use infrared light patterns to turn your living room into an entirely alien environment.

To quote the patent:

“Interactive media experiences, such as video games, are commonly delivered by a high quality, high resolution display. Such displays are typically the only source of visual content, so that the media experience is bounded by the bezel of the display. … Even when focused on the display, the user may perceive architectural and decorative features of the room the display is in via the user’s peripheral vision. Such features are typically out of context with respect to the displayed image, muting the entertainment potential of the media experience. … Further, because some entertainment experiences engage the user’s situational awareness (e.g., in experiences like the video game scenario described above), the ability to perceive motion and identify objects in the peripheral environment (i.e., in a region outside of the high resolution display) may intensify the entertainment experience.

In short, this patent is aiming to make your game play much more immersive, to the point of simulated reality. If this is any indication regarding the specs on the latest edition of the Xbox 720, Microsoft fanboys had best hold on to their hats. These advancements coming with the latest wave of next-gen consoles almost seems too far-fetched to be real, but I’ll believe it when I playing it.