Back in CES 2013, Microsoft unveiled a new gaming concept dubbed Illumiroom which transformed an individual’s living room thanks to projectors that cast video game visuals over a living room. Today, Illumiroom has resurfaced under a different project name known as RoomAlive.
Expanding on the visions Microsoft had for enhancing the overall video game experience, RoomAlive improves on Illumiroom by scanning the depth of your living room with the help of six projector cameras and Kinect to generate a game world. This in turn immerses the player in a unique playing environment that is different from fellow players as play space is scaled differently and a number of dynamic elements that contribute to the overall experience.
In a three and a half minute long video, Microsoft Research demoed RoomAlive in a number of living rooms. Said demoes included a whack-a-mole game that spanned an entire living room and in another instance showed a player attempting to dodge a number of booby trap darts a la Indiana Jones.
Whilst the entire concept of RoomAlive is futuristic to say the bare minimum, one thing that is for certain is the inevitable cost to adopt such technology in the homes of the average consumer. Last year, Xbox One head of product planning Albert Penello affirmed that the projector setup alone would cost thousands of dollars, and when factoring in RoomAlive’s even more advanced arsenal of technology, the cost would no doubt be staggering.
[Source: IGN]
