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[bj00rn_]

I just watched the video again to be sure, and I didn't see anything that couldn't be done with a regular camera + mic : voice analysis, face detection / recognition, simple gesture detection, scanning of a drawing... those are things that don't really require a depth measurement (actually most of them appear in the Eyepet demo)

And we could build the fucking Golden Gate Bridge out of breadcrumbs and toothpicks if we gave it some patience.. But why would that matter to a kid with a 360?

 

[Sydle]

I just watched the video again to be sure, and I didn't see anything that couldn't be done with a regular camera + mic : voice analysis, face detection / recognition, simple gesture detection, scanning of a drawing... those are things that don't really require a depth measurement (actually most of them appear in the Eyepet demo).

To be fair, Molyneux said that he had access to natal in december 08 ; most of his work up to then involved study of software based on emotions. So it's no surprise that he doesn't really use all of the 3D camera functionalities yet.

The Burnout demo required depth measurement, as you moved your foot forward to accelerate and back to brake.

 

[Linkified]

In the Milo thing from the video she moved her hands forward into the pond to create ripples.

 

[Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew]

In before "OMG KOJIMA LOST HIS POSITION?"

 

[Alx]

The Burnout demo required depth measurement, as you moved your foot forward to accelerate and back to brake.

Of course. The specific Natal video was clear enough, I was only talking about the Milo demo, with the virtual boy.
The "hands in the water" part seem to involve depth indeed, but you can get a very similar result based on 2D motion.

Don't get me wrong, I am in awe with the technology that is in natal, it's just that it wasn't a big part in the Milo demo. The major innovtive point of Molyneux's software is to reproduce an affective link between a virtual character and the "player", and that's mostly done by clever programming : voice analysis, natural discussion, face recognition, display of emotions, ...