Nvidia Researching Image Tracking, Motion Detection Technologies – Company

From X-bit Labs: Motion detection-based user interfaces have been exciting minds for a long time. But it looks like “Minority Report”-like user interfaces may be a little closer than we think. Nvidia Corp. on Friday confirmed that it is researching technologies that could enable real-time motion-detection-based user interfaces.

All three leading makers of video game consoles have enabled real-time detection of motions for new games using different technologies, but emphasizing the importance of the idea in general. Toshiba Corp. and some other companies have enabled recognition of certain gestures on Cell processor-based devices, showing an evolution of the TV remote control. There are expectations that Microsoft Corp. is also working on user interfaces that can be controlled using gestures and motions. Hardware companies do recognize the necessity of interfaces that are based on detections of motions. Recently Intel Corp. announced creation of a special lab that will work, among other things, on various types of interfaces for computer users, including, but not limited to, motion detection-based. Apparently, Nvidia Corp. is also working on various motion tracking technologies aimed at the future.

"Nvidia Research is working on some projects which involve image processing and image/object tracking and recognition. We also are aware of a number of University and other efforts to use CUDA and GPU computing for this sort of task," said David Kirk, an Nvidia fellow and the former chief scientist of the company, in a brief conversation with X-bit labs.

Developers of graphics processing units (GPUs) have come a long way and their chips are now much more flexible and capable than they were a decade ago. At present both Nvidia and ATI (graphics business unit of AMD) are working hard to enable higher performance of consumer applications with the help of their GeForce and Radeon GPUs since at present graphics processors are utilized fully only in video games. After powering games, consumer oriented applications, some special-purpose business or professional (in fact, there are applications that use CUDA and graphics chips for audio-related computations) applications, it is logical for graphics processing units to go even further. If interaction with a PC requires performance of a massively parallel GPU, then the future of both chip designers is bright.

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