Microsoft Research Brings Mid-Air Multitouch To Kinect. Control Your Computer Like 'Minority Report'

Microsoft Research recently showed off a Kinect project that allows fine-tuned gesture control.  This motion sensing device is now able to read whether your hand is open or closed, bringing mid-air multitouch like what you see in 'Minority Report,' all thanks to a new development of the software.

This level of User Interface was demonstrated by Microsoft Research using Windows 8. Their 'Handgrip' detector moves beyond Kinect's previous recognition of the hand as a single point of the body, overlaying the processing of the hand state on top of this.  

Using varied hand states, we see Cem Keskin air-painting and Bing maps being manipulated and zoomed.  Could this be a precursor to the interface design we see in the next generation Xbox?