Microsoft debuts RoomAlive augmented reality system and games

Microsoft has shown off new augmented reality technology that transforms your entire living room into an interactive toy box.

Using projectors and depth cameras, players can dodge and shoot content displayed within the room. It's an extensive set-up using projectors and Kinect units.

As well as a general overview of the project, there are three games on show in the video below; Whack-A-Mole, Robot Attack and Traps.

The video claims all content was captured live in real-time with no post-production.

This is what the boffins at Microsoft Research had to say: "RoomAlive is a proof-of-concept prototype that transforms any room into an immersive, augmented entertainment experience.

"Our system enables new interactive projection mapping experiences that dynamically adapts content to any room. Users can touch, shoot, stomp, dodge and steer projected content that seamlessly co-exists with their existing physical environment.

"The basic building blocks of RoomAlive are projector-depth camera units, which can be combined through a scalable, distributed framework. The projector-depth camera units are individually auto-calibrating, self-localizing, and create a unified model of the room with no user intervention. We investigate the design space of gaming experiences that are possible with RoomAlive and explore methods for dynamically mapping content based on room layout and user position.

"Finally we showcase four experience prototypes that demonstrate the novel interactive experiences that are possible with RoomAlive and discuss the design challenges of adapting any game to any room."