One of the oldest names in children's programming is getting a makeover in collaboration with Microsoft, for what they're calling "Kinect Sesame Street TV." At various points in a "Sesame Street" show, characters such as Elmo ask viewers to participate — counting, throwing imaginary objects, or jumping. The camera, attached to the Xbox console, allows viewers' movements to impact what's happening on the TV. If kids don't want to jump for Cookie Monster, the technology can tell that they're not moving, so Cookie Monster encourages them to move. Once the activity is done, or if a kid decides to sit it out, Sesame Street continues to another part of the program.
Another program, Kinect NatGeo TV, makes wildlife documentaries fully immersive. For instance, a documentary about owls shows how they catch bugs, then asks viewers to stand up and try to catch bugs on the screen themselves. The camera captures the viewer's image and adds an owl face and wings to their body. When the viewer flaps his arms, it looks like he's an owl about to take flight. Then, when crickets fly near the viewer-turned-owl's face, he has to move and dive to catch them in his virtual mouth.
This technology that integrates a viewer's body into a TV show has seemingly limitless potential. We'll see what happens once reality TV producers get their hands on it.