http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWZt2vJaj28

In the 1980s “The Clapper” worked with sound to allow lazy people to turn lights on and off without having to get up to do so. Now Crestron is looking to help simply our daily lives in a similar way – but by actually using some motion.

Creston Labs, the research arm of the engineering department, released the video above to show off how the new technology from Microsoft that takes the Kinect motion control system to any Windows-based PC. It could read Kinect gestures for a range of uses including PowerPoint presentations or just give everyone “Jedi-like” powers to dim or raise the lights in the room. So while it isn’t technically in the exercise space, to use it sure beats just clapping.

Crestron Official Website

This could help astronauts better calculate their weight in zero gravity, something very important as those in sapce can lose up to 15 percent of their body mass because the muscles tend to develop atrophy due to lack of use. The crews already spend up to two hours a day exercising, but until recently there has been no way to measure weight post-workout.

Now the Kinect might just do the trick!

[Via New Scientist: Kinect weighs astronauts just by looking at them]

[Via Kotaku: Wave Hello: Microsoft's Requiring Kinect Functionality for All Future Apps Built for Xbox 360]

(Click image for a closer view)

Take a very good look at the picture above. On the left is Impulse Technology’s Trazer Interactive Fitness machine, while the one on the right is the Nintendo Wii in action. Do they look the same, because Impulse Technology has filed a lawsuit against Nintendo – along with several third-party game development studios, for violating a 1996 patent for an “interactive system for measuring physiological exertion.” According to Joystiq.com the suit is reportedly based on the “weight-tracking Wii Balance board (and the games which use it).”

Impulse Technology has claimed that the Wii too closely resembles the Trazer Interactive Fitness machine. Now what is curious is that the Wii was launched in 2005 and the Wii Balance Board came out in 2007, so why the delay until late 2011? Could it be that Impulse filed a similar suit against Microsoft over the Kinect this past July and is just covering all bases?

[Via Joystiq: Impulse Technology suing Nintendo for patent infringement]

There are already devices that we’ve covered that allow a PC to be used with a bike trainer, golf simulator or other devices, but where the PC has lagged behind in recent years is with motion control that makes gaming fitness possible. Now Microsoft is offering a true game changer as the Kinect will arrive on the PC next year.

Here is what the Kinect for Windows Team had to say on the matter:

Since announcing a few weeks ago that the Kinect for Windows commercial program will launch in early 2012, we’ve been asked whether there will also be new Kinect hardware especially for Windows. The answer is yes; building on the existing Kinect for Xbox 360 device, we have optimized certain hardware components and made firmware adjustments which better enable PC-centric scenarios. Coupled with the numerous upgrades and improvements our team is making to the Software Development Kit (SDK) and runtime, the new hardware delivers features and functionality that Windows developers and Microsoft customers have been asking for.

Simple changes include shortening the USB cable to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers and the inclusion of a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals.  Of particular interest to developers will be the new firmware which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimeters in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters.  “Near Mode” will enable a whole new class of “close up” applications, beyond the living room scenarios for Kinect for Xbox 360. This is one of the most requested features from the many developers and companies participating in our Kinect for Windows pilot program and folks commenting on our forums, and we’re pleased to deliver this, and more, at launch.

Another thing we’ve heard from our pilot customers is that companies exploring commercial uses of Kinect want to operate with the assurance of support and future innovation from Microsoft. As part of Microsoft’s deep commitment to NUI, we designed the Kinect for Windows commercial program to give licensed customers access to ongoing updates in both speech and human tracking (where Microsoft has been investing for years), in addition to providing fully supported Kinect hardware for Windows. We’ve been captivated by the countless creative ways companies worldwide envision how their businesses and industries can be revolutionized with Kinect, and are proud to be helping those companies to explore the profound implications NUI has for the future.

Microsoft also has just launched a new initiative, the Kinect Accelerator incubation project run by Microsoft BizSpark. I will be serving as a Mentor for this program, along with a number of other folks from Microsoft. BizSpark helps software startups through access to Microsoft software development tools, connection to key industry players (including investors) and by providing marketing visibility.  The Kinect Accelerator will give 10 tech-oriented companies using Kinect (on either Windows or Xbox360) an investment of $20,000 each, plus a number of other great perks. Applications are being accepted now through January 25th, 2012. At the end of the program, each company will have an opportunity to present at an Investor Demo Day to angel investors, venture capitalists, Microsoft executives (including me), media and industry influentials. I can’t wait to see what they (and maybe you?) come up with!

Craig Eisler
General Manager, Kinect for Windows

MSDN Blog: Kinect for Windows – Building the Future

Many of these titles are aimed at the fitness crowd or have fitness as part of the selling point, and include games such as Just Dance 3, Just Dance Kids 2 and Your Shape Fitness Evolved, but there is also a trend going with just slightly more active – or should we say interactive – gaming. These include action games. And while these might not be quite the same as going out for a run or hitting the gym, for those long winter days ahead it still could help get gamers hearts pumping from a bit more activity.

[Via The Wall Street Journal: Can Microsoft’s Xbox Have Another Kinect Christmas, or Will It Be Coal All Around?]

Microsoft and Ubisoft have provided a few more details for its Your Shape Fitness Evolved 2012, which will officially launch tomorrow, via the new YouTube video (above). The fitness/sports game looks to build on the past success of the Your Shape Fitness franchise and once again promises to help gamers get off the couch and get a little more fit via the Kinect for the Microsoft Xbox 360. Never a bad thing.

Your Shape Fitness Official Website

New features this year include the ability to call an audible play in football or challenge the ref in tennis with your voice, and even challenge friends over Xbox LIVE. But this year the gameplay ups the ante while getting gamers off the couch as it now includes an in-game calorie counter. You can work up a sweat, score points and lose some calories all at the same time.

Kinect Sports: Season Two will be available this holiday season from Rare and Big Park and is being published by Microsoft Studios. Tis the season to game and get in shape.

Xbox 360 Official Website

And gamers can take part without even suiting up. The motion-tracking capability of the Kinect for Xbox 360 platform allows for realistic player input, helping to recreate all components of an exciting swimming race. Whether it’s hyping up the crowd, achieving the perfect dive from the start, swimming at the optimum rhythm, timing the perfect turn, or timing the last gasp reach to the wall, Kinect for Xbox 360 allows the game to accurately replicate those elements in the most fun and accessible way possible, by using simple body and hand gestures.

505 Games has partnered with iconic swimwear brand Speedo. The Speedo brand appears on all swimwear and caps in-game as well as on the touch pads within all of the pool environments. In addition, players strive to compete in the Annual Games which are held in the Speedo Stadium, a specially built in-game environment, including a winners’ podium.

It’s been my dream since I was young to achieve things that no one else has done and it’s a truly amazing experience to now have a video game dedicated solely to swimming, said Michael Phelps. “This game is all about having fun and experiencing the exciting competition of my sport and the controller-free Kinect for Xbox 360 technology literally allows kids and adults alike to dive right in and go head-to-head with each other and even test their skills with me.”

So while you won’t actually get in the water in this one, you will get your heart pounding as you get off the couch and go for the gold.

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit Official Website
Speedo Official Website

Fitness is now heading to a new dimension as Traq3D has announced the launch of the next generation TRAZER system, which utilizes the Panasonic Electric Works’ 3D Image Sensing Camera, D-IMager, as the preferred 3D motion detection device for this new product. TRAZER is an innovative interactive exercise technology that was featured on according to the company measures the previously immeasurable fundamental components of movement. It provides the power to detect movement asymmetries and weaknesses to guide rehabilitation, performance enhancement and injury prevention programs.

While this has the appearance of the technology used in current video games, such as the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft’s Kinect for the Xbox360 or the PlayStation Move, it is really a lot more says the technology’s innovator.

“TRAZER measures the previously immeasurable fundamental components of movement. It provides the power to detect movement asymmetries and weaknesses to guide rehabilitation, performance enhancement and injury prevention programs,” says TRAZER’s inventor Barry J. French. “Conventional fitness machines, such as treadmills, bikes and ellipticals, only exercise the muscle groups that propel us forward. By contrast, TRAZER also exercises the muscle groups that propel us backward, side-to-side, up and down, and that allow us to twist and turn and stop and start. All while engaging the mind as well as the body.”

Preceding the inclusion of D-IMager, the user had to wear a sensor on their body to control the onscreen action. Panasonic’s technology eliminates the body-worn marker affording the user unrestricted movement. TRAZER captures all movements including turning, bending and twisting — and the D-IMager allows the user’s entire body to interact in the activity.

“Physical rehabilitation, sports training and fitness are ideal applications for the D-IMager,” said Tom Monczka, Product Manager for Panasonic Electric Works USA. “Accurate pixel-by-pixel image information enables full body motion tracking for precise feedback on the user’s progress. Reliability is ensured with strong ambient lighting resistance and a 10 year continuous usage life expectancy.

According to the company TRAZER has the promise to offer entertaining and effective programs for Fitness and Weight Management, Senior Health and Fall Prevention, Sports Performance Enhancement and Injury Prevention. And for the healthcare provider, TRAZER’s role will be to enhance preventative, rehabilitative and performance building programs and services that maximize each patient’s functionality and promote the well-being of every family member.

Traq 3D Fitness Official Website

“It’s hard to think of a more popular, cherished and culturally significant board game than Twister. I myself have fond memories of the laughs and outrageous fun I’ve had when playing with friends and family,” said Jesse Sutton, CEO, Majesco Entertainment.”Our game introduces a brand new play pattern that is perfect for what Kinect was designed to do. Twister Mania for Kinect is as much fun to watch as it is to play and it’s shaping up to be one of the most contagious Kinect party games released.”

Twister Mania combines the colorful, expressive and cooperative gameplay of the original Twister board game and updates it for the digital generation. Twist into fun with friends and family in this light-hearted, fast-paced game that supports up to eight players with deep gameplay across three game modes with 16 variations and over 1800 shapes to play! This outrageous party game provides over-the-top hilarity – so don’t hold back as you duck, squeeze, contort and move your body to match your opponent’s silhouette, knock down blocks against the clock and fill in thousands of crazy shapes of all sizes and themes!

Fans of game will get their chance to bend and move when the digital version of the game arrives this November on Kinect for the Microsoft Xbox 360, making the upcoming holiday season the time to twist again.

Twister Mania Official Website

This week in Los Angeles Ubisoft offered a peek at its upcoming Kinect fitness title for the Xbox 360. Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2012, the sequel to the original Your Shape game, promises to provide more user feedback along with more than 90 hours of new content. The game will track a user’s movements, and provides more detailed feedback to help you work out.

The game will include a variety of workout routines including the ability jump rope and do basic aerobic exercises. But the really cool part of this one promises to be the “Run the World” mode, which allows players to virtually run through the streets of New York, Paris or London – given that this reporter has actually run in those cities I can’t wait to see this in action when the game is released this November, exclusively on Kinetic for the Xbox 360.

Video after the jump:

There are some games that just make instant sense, and then there are the games like Michael Phelps: Push the Limit. In this one players get to try to go for the gold and beyond in a swimming game – pool not required, not included and not compatible.

A swimming game for the living room? That’s right. The idea behind this motion control game is that players simulate swimming, moving their arms to simulate the motion of swimming in the water. The upcoming game utilizes Kinect for the Xbox 360 and from the scenes on the show floor it could get gamers’ hearts pumping. It features a variety of unique settings – but it isn’t exactly the career path that Phelps took. We figured he swam in school pools, city pools and Olympic pools, not in outdoor pools on icy mountain ranges. But that’s artistic license.

This is one that could be hit or miss, or dare we say sink or swim. Michael Phelps: Push the Limit is out now exclusively on Kinect for Xbox 360 from 505 Games.

Video after the jump:

Michael Phelps: Push the Limit Official Website