Set to be included in Softkinetic’s gesture recognition middleware platform iisu, the Full Body Avatar Control system will revolutionize the video game space by enabling developers to animate on-screen characters that precisely replicate a gamer’s movement. The Full Body Avatar Control system will enable developers, for the first time, to create realistic, third-person avatars that move, in real time, with the player(s) using a depth-sensing camera that recognizes the player’s spatial orientation, limb positions and combinations of hand, feet and torso movements.

iisu, which is the result of five years of research and development, was first launched at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in February 2008 and has since been incorporated into large-scale applications for gaming, multimedia systems, fitness and virtual training. The technology, which supports all 3D depth-sensing cameras, enables a more natural interaction with the digital world as it removes the need for a controller and allows players to command the experience with their body movements in real-time.

“The world’s largest media and entertainment companies have already embraced our technology, and have helped us refine our understanding of the requirements for realistic polygonal avatar control system,” said Michel Tombroff, CEO of Softkinetic. “Our team is driving the industry and we are confident that it represents the most advanced 3D camera-based avatar animation solution available on the market today.”

Softkinetic’s technology is in a prime position to capture this market opportunity, not only because of the ease of use and the innovative features, but also because it supports all available 3D depth-sensing cameras on the market, including cameras from 3DV Systems, Canesta, MESA, PMDTec, Prime Sense and Optex.

Tombroff continued, “We strongly believe that the video game industry will embrace 3D gesture recognition technology in 2009, and we believe the first games will hit the market as soon as 2010.” iisu is delivered as a Software Development Kit (SDK) with which developers can create applications allowing the human body to become the natural input device removing the need for any physical controllers.