Maybe it's just me, but I'm not quite sure I follow how they "almost" got it. Perhaps if they were negotiating numbers and figures and it just fell through -- I could see that; but just because the initial meetings didn't go so well or were hung up on NDAs? I don't get it.
I'm afraid most companies have no idea how much their legal departments, with all of the bullshit they pile on everyday business transactions, cost them.
What device(s) would Apple even stick the PrimeSense technology in? The 12 watts [1] needed to drive the thing only really makes sense on desktops, and for what - a weird experimental Minority Report style 3D interface?
Is that 12W continuous, or just 12W when the motors are moving the head? It seems to me that it should be possible to run an audio interface and two cameras on 2.5W (theoretical max USB 2.0 power). A DSP performing acoustic echo cancellation and depth calculation and a bright IR emitter could add another few watts, but I don't think that accounts for 12W.
I've got a Kinect at my desk, and the power supply is rated for 12V at up to 1.08A, or ~13W total. My Kill-a-watt shows it drawing ~3W at idle, ~4.4W running just depth, and 4.6W running depth and RGB. Running depth, RGB, and the motor only gets me up to 5W.
The Kinect power supply lists 100V-230V at 0.3A. Using the minimum voltage, that's a peak draw of 30VA. The power supply has a measured power factor of ~0.44, which if maintained to full load means it could draw .44*30=13.2W. Somehow I doubt the power supply is actually 98% efficient at its normal operating range, so in a laptop where a 12V supply is already available, the additional power draw of a complete depth sensing system could be under 4W.
To sum up, I think you could successfully integrate depth sensing into a laptop that already has a camera and microphone array, especially considering that the sensing field will be much smaller. Please correct my estimation if I've made any errors.
Imagine walking up to your desktop and it recognises who you are and automatically unlocks? Apple has been rumoured to be working on something like this.
There are a multitude of ways this technology can be applied, and just because you can't envisage a way to use them - it doesn't make them any less useful.
According to people I have known who negotiated with them, Apple was far, far harder to deal with, and paid less than other customers. The "PITA" factor I find credible.
The Israelis probably did see far more wider uses for this technology, but it seems to me Microsoft just outbid the others and then marketed this only as a game controller. Though, I wouldn't be too surprised if we were to see more uses for this popping up in the next version of Windows or somewhere else.
[+] [-] fname|15 years ago|reply
EDIT: It is, however, a cool story to tell...
[+] [-] sudont|15 years ago|reply
Right. Microsoft : PrimeSense :: Tartars : Joseph Boyce
If you’re an inventor, it probably doesn’t hurt to have a origin myth. And, I’m not quite sure if Apple is therefore the Luftwaffe or the lard...
[+] [-] tgflynn|15 years ago|reply
Since Microsoft Research has such a strong computer vision team I'm surprised that they needed to go to an outside company for this technology.
[+] [-] brudgers|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] shasta|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] epochwolf|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] czhiddy|15 years ago|reply
[1] http://www.joystiq.com/2010/11/04/kinect-teardown-two-camera...
[+] [-] nitrogen|15 years ago|reply
I've got a Kinect at my desk, and the power supply is rated for 12V at up to 1.08A, or ~13W total. My Kill-a-watt shows it drawing ~3W at idle, ~4.4W running just depth, and 4.6W running depth and RGB. Running depth, RGB, and the motor only gets me up to 5W.
The Kinect power supply lists 100V-230V at 0.3A. Using the minimum voltage, that's a peak draw of 30VA. The power supply has a measured power factor of ~0.44, which if maintained to full load means it could draw .44*30=13.2W. Somehow I doubt the power supply is actually 98% efficient at its normal operating range, so in a laptop where a 12V supply is already available, the additional power draw of a complete depth sensing system could be under 4W.
To sum up, I think you could successfully integrate depth sensing into a laptop that already has a camera and microphone array, especially considering that the sensing field will be much smaller. Please correct my estimation if I've made any errors.
[+] [-] taitems|15 years ago|reply
There are a multitude of ways this technology can be applied, and just because you can't envisage a way to use them - it doesn't make them any less useful.
"No wireless. Less space than a Nomad. Lame."
[+] [-] gcheong|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|15 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] pclark|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] brudgers|15 years ago|reply
I'm not sure how that becomes "almost," besides, what would Apple do with a game controller?
[+] [-] patrickgzill|15 years ago|reply
[+] [-] VomisaCaasi|15 years ago|reply
The Israelis probably did see far more wider uses for this technology, but it seems to me Microsoft just outbid the others and then marketed this only as a game controller. Though, I wouldn't be too surprised if we were to see more uses for this popping up in the next version of Windows or somewhere else.
[+] [-] mcritz|15 years ago|reply