According to some tests by GameSpot, Kinect for Xbox 360’s facial recognition works much better for white players than those with darker skin. This supports my theory that Microsoft hardware is racist. I’m joking! Seriously though, here’s the word from GameSpot:
While testing out the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees experienced problems with the system’s facial recognition abilities. The system recognized one employee inconsistently, while it was never able to properly identify the other despite repeated calibration attempts. However, Kinect had no problems identifying a third dark-skinned GameSpot employee, recognizing his face after a single calibration. Lighter-skinned employees were also consistently picked up on the first try.
Please keep in mind that the sample size is super small.
Oddly enough, I’m more interested in Kinect than I was seconds before I read this story. I know that Kinect’s sensors get all sorts of whacked out in sunlight, but I want to see if the hardware will hate me because I’m brown. I’m sure it will work for most people, but it will be interesting to see if a significant number of gamers with darker skin have issues with the system. If it does then expect countless jokes on Kinect being racist and a class action lawsuit.
Any thoughts on the matter?
(Thanks to Joey for this excellent photo of him dressed as Ron Washington for Halloween!)
That was the same problem HP had with its motion detection cameras. People will make it a race issue which is partly true but light reflects off of lighter skin more so than dark skin, of course I have no scientific data to prove that but I want to see you come up with a better reason lol.
Wasn't it an HP laptop that had a similar problem with it's facial recognition software to log in to the computer? Or something along those lines at least, a while back. It seems that same problem has struck again!!
Interesting discovery though. If I had one of these I wonder if I could mess with my fiance while she was attempting to use it, and have it pick up me instead of her….hmmm…haha.
I bet this would give Kevin Garnett hell.
LMFAO he is darker than me and I consider my self midnight blue and/or black leather couch dark.
Your comment had me thinking of when I saw Shad Gaspard call R-Truth "The Grinch who stole blackness".
I think you guys are looking at this issue in the wrong light. This is a typical "make-lemonade-from-lemons" situation.
If Microsoft were truly smart, they would just sell "White Face Paint & Make Up" kits for $19.99 or 1600 Microsoft Points. That way, instead of paying for costly updates or lawsuits, you can actually make money by selling an accessory.
If you want to see the White Face Paint & Make Up kit in action, go here:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/155137/bust…
(it’s at 1:25)
After all, isn't that what Nintendo did with the Wii Remote condoms and Apple did with the antenna issue of the iPhone 4?
Man, I should totally write a book on marketing!
-M
clever. I think you need to charge at least $30 though