Kinect up your PC with the WAVI Xtion
The ASUS WAVI Xtion (pronounced Wav-eee-Action) is a pair of complementary but very different technologies. The Xtion (Action) motion sensor has two IR cameras to record the world – but specifically you – in 3D. For the first time on the PC this means we can wave an appendage to have gesture-based control of movie playback, games and various applications.
In a similar way that originally the Nintendo Wii, and subsequently Microsoft’s controller free Kinect have changed the landscape of console gaming, ASUS has co-operated with the people behind the Kinect hardware – PrimeSense – to modify and optimise this technology for PCs.
On the other hand, the WAVI is a pair of wireless transmitters that connect up your TV to your PC, which can be up to 25m away. It uses the 5GHz band so it won’t interfere with any WiFi signals or when you’re reheating lunch in the microwave, and the WAVI receiver is designed to connect directly to the Xtion bar, so a noisy PC or server can even be in another room entirely.
Both the WAVI transmitter and receiver use a standard HDMI interface, and the technology is designed to smoothly transmit High-Definition content from your PC to your TV. It uses an alternative Intel’s latest WHDI technology, which is limited to the latest Sandy Bridge platform laptops, as instead the WAVI can be used with any HDMI compatible system.
ASUS WAVI Xtion
The proprietary Xtion engine supports the remapping of keyboard controls into motion gestures, for either third party games or media player control. ASUS explained that you can do things like wave at your TV to play or pause a movie, for example. If you want to make that action more elaborate though, that’s entirely your choice!
ASUS bundles two games with the kit; MayaFit Cardio Lite, a motion-sensing fitness training game and BeatBooster, a multiplayer racing adventure game. However this should be just the beginning though, as ASUS will also opened up its Xtion to the world of homebrew developers with the Xtion PRO developer pack. This gives home users and business’ the freedom to create novel and completely new ideas for motion-sensing, in much the same way Kinect hackers have achieved already, except with a more official, open and PC-native foundation. ASUS even plans to launch the Xtion Pro Developer Challenge in March, with prizes and publishing deals for the best programs.
It definitely sounds intriguingly different, and I can’t wait to try a kit, although I expect it will make fighting for the remote with the girlfriend a whole different experience!
Wave your fingers at your keyboard and let us know your thoughts below!
Nick Holland
Nick Holland – Portability and PC gaming are essential to Nick’s life. He’s enjoyed the latter since a very young age – eschewing consoles for customizability of a PC (with the finest backbones like the Asus P3B-F and A7V133) and the feel of a keyboard and mouse. As soon as he could afford a notebook he got one and things have rolled on from there into sleek DTRs (desktop replacements) netbooks, smartphones and he’s already eyeing up the latest tablets while trying to think up an excuse to own one. After writing about all things tech for several years it is only natural he sought to join the already awesome TiS team.