Sony Acquires SoftKinetic, Which Can Track Hands for Virtual Reality
Sony has acquired SoftKinetic, a computer vision startup specializing in depth-sensing cameras that can track things like what gestures your hands are making, for an undisclosed amount.
That’s a neat fit for Sony, which is working on both augmented reality smart glasses and a virtual reality headset, PlayStation VR, the latter of which is set to debut by the middle of next year.
The company’s cameras are what’s known as “time of flight,” which means they work by shining a diffused laser out into the world and measuring how long it takes that laser to bounce back, similar to the motion camera Kinect that connects to Microsoft’s Xbox. What that means in consumer terms is that a person would be able to see and use his or her hands to grip, manipulate or otherwise interact with virtual objects while wearing a headset that might otherwise make them impossible to see.
See the full story here: http://recode.net/2015/10/08/sony-acquires-softkinetic-which-can-track-hands-for-virtual-reality/