Microsoft raises bet on motion-sensing tech

Microsoft has acquired Canesta, which designs microchips that it says enable computers to see images in three dimensions, according to the privately-held Sunnyvale, California-based company.

The purchase comes as Microsoft prepares to launch its Kinect motion-controller next month, hoping to spark sales of its xBox video game consoles. Buying Canesta, whose technology focuses mainly on consumer applications, suggests Microsoft is already eyeing more and better movement-recognition products down the line for its video game system as well as other applications. Kinect’s camera-based system, built into cameras, lets players control games with body and hand gestures, letting gamers ditch the hand-held controllers they have been tied to for decades.

Honda has invested $5 million in Canesta to develop 3-D technology to help drivers park their cars and avoid collisions.Hitachi is using Canesta’s technology to create a television controlled by hand gestures instead of a remote control.

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Toshiba 3D TV Ditches Glasses but Demands Tight Seating

Toshiba announced what it claims are the world's first LCD TVs that render three-dimensional (3D) images without the need for glasses.They will be released in Japan by the end of the year. However, viewers must sit within a specific zone in order to get the 3D effect.

They use an integral imaging system and a perpendicular lenticular sheet to display smooth images. Toshiba's image processing technology creates nine parallax images from the original content and renders them in 3D. Both have high-definition LED backlit LCD panels created for 3D capability without glasses.

One of the major drawbacks of Toshiba's glassless 3D technology is that viewers must sit in a specific zone in order to get the 3D effect. There is a viewing zone that can be seen as 3D; however, outside of this zone, images may not be seen in 3D, in whole or in part, according to the company.

"One of the reasons why these Toshiba sets are small is that you need an optimal seating position," Pietro Macchiarella, a research analyst at Parks Associates, pointed out. "Toshiba's probably targeting an audience of one or two viewers at a time."

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