Project Natal could be coming to Windows

Back in the start of June, Microsoft made quite an impression on many people when it announced Project Natal for the Xbox 360 on the stage at E3. The technology allows for full body movement, face recognition and voice commands for the Xbox 360, allowing users to interact with the console using their entire body, no controller needed. It only seemed logical that Microsoft would try to use the technology in other devices, like PCs, but we’ve had no reason to suspect that until now.

In a recent interview with CNET, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates mentioned that both the Xbox and Windows divisions in Microsoft have latched onto the idea of Project Natal. The technology will allow for easy file management in Windows, moving files just by moving them around with your hand. It would be put to the most use by managing movies, music, and other media in a Media Center environment, which was show at E3 as part of the E3 presentation. Gates said that, “the idea of how it can be used in the office is getting much more concrete, and is pretty exciting.”

The idea of this project isn’t something exactly new, it’s been lusted over by many people since a similar computer system was shown off in “Minority Report.” Of course, it won’t look exactly like the movie’s computers, but the interaction with the computer will be as mouse free as you would want to make it. Of course, Project Natal won’t be able to do everything with a Windows PC, chances are you’ll probably still want to type up documents without relying too much on the voice recognition, though there’s a chance it could be better than most we’ve seen already. The most obvious answer aside from media selection and playback would have to be movement activated Powerpoint presentation, which could only be a good thing.

Read [CNet]