SoftKinetic is a Belgian company which develops gesture recognition

Gesture recognition

Gesture recognition is a topic in computer science and language technology with the goal of interpreting human gestures via mathematical algorithms. Gestures can originate from any bodily motion or state but commonly originate from the face or hand. Current focuses in the field include emotion...

 hardware and software for real-time range imaging

Range imaging

Range imaging is the name for a collection of techniques which are used to produce a 2D image showing the distance to points in a scene from a specific point, normally associated with some type of sensor device....

 (3D) cameras (such as time-of-flight camera

Time-of-flight camera

A time-of-flight camera is a range imaging camera system that resolves distance based on the known speed of light, measuring the time-of-flight of a light signal between the camera and the subject...

s). It was founded in July 2007. SoftKinetic provides gesture recognition solutions based on its technology to the interactive digital entertainment, consumer electronics

Consumer electronics

Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

, health & fitness, and serious game

Serious game

A serious game is a game designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. The "serious" adjective is generally prepended to refer to products used by industries like defense, education, scientific exploration, health care, emergency management, city planning, engineering, religion,...

 industries. SoftKinetic technology has been applied to interactive digital signage

Digital signage

Digital signage is a form of electronic display that shows television programming, menus, information, advertising and other messages. Digital signs can be found in public and private environments, such as retail stores, hotels, restaurants and corporate buildings.Digital signage Displays are most...

 and advergaming

Advergaming

Advergaming is the practice of using video games to advertise a product, organization or viewpoint. The term "advergames" was coined in January 2000 by Anthony Giallourakis, and later mentioned by Wireds "Jargon Watch" column in 2001...

, interactive television

Interactive television

Interactive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...

, and physical therapy

Physical therapy

Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...

.

Originally centered around providing software development kit

Software development kit

A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...

s and middleware

Middleware

Middleware is computer software that connects software components or people and their applications. The software consists of a set of services that allows multiple processes running on one or more machines to interact...

, SoftKinetic branched out into internal game and application development with the establishment of SoftKinetic Studios in September 2009. SoftKinetic then progressed into hardware, partnering with time-of-flight camera developer Optrima in September 2010, with the two companies merging into a reformed SoftKinetic by March 2011.

SoftKinetic's gesture recognition software platform, named iisu, can recognize and distinguish or isolate different scenic elements, can identify and track the body parts of a user, and can adapt the user's shape, posture, and movements to an existing physical model, and vice versa. iisu is compatible with all major real-time range imaging cameras, and the middleware guards developers from the particularities of the hardware.

SoftKinetic's hardware solution, named DepthSense (formerly OptriCam), is a line of 3D time-of-flight imagers based on patented CMOS sensor and time-of-flight (TOF) technologies. Based on Current Assisted Photonic Demodulation (CAPD), the company's patented CMOS pixel

Active pixel sensor

An active-pixel sensor is an image sensor consisting of an integrated circuit containing an array of pixel sensors, each pixel containing a photodetector and an active amplifier. There are many types of active pixel sensors including the CMOS APS used most commonly in cell phone cameras, web...

 technology, DepthSense hardware products range from sensors to consumer and professional 3D cameras.

SoftKinetic Studios has collaborated on numerous gesture recognition-based projects for various platforms such as PC, consoles, set-top boxes, arcade, and interactive digital signage; with companies such as Orange Vallée and Fuel Industries

Fuel Industries

Fuel Industries is an Ottawa, Ontario based online interactive and marketing agency. Founded in 1999 by Mike Burns, Jeff Doiron, Dave Ozipko and Brian Nesbitt, Fuel Industries employs over 85 people and has satellite offices in Los Angeles and Seattle....

.

External links

• SoftKinetic
• SoftKinetic Studios
• Demo of Orange Vallee's gesture-controlled TV, with Softkinetics technology at YouTube
  YouTube
  YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
  
   (Adobe Flash
  Adobe Flash
  Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
  
   video) - Gesture control using SoftKinetic software