IDF 2012: Intel Announces Perceptual Computing Software Development Kit, Million Dollar Prize

At the IDF 2012 event, Intel’s Dadi Perlmutter's main thrust in his opening keynote was about having enhanced experiences with machines, and he highlighted that the usage experience on new-age Ultrabooks was more about bringing natural, intuitive experiences using gesture and voice interaction. He stated that the personal computing experience is shifting to one based on perceptual computing, where devices will take on human-like senses to perceive the user's intentions. 

Perlmutter invited the developer community to work with Intel to bring the next wave of perceptual computing capability to Intel Core-based platforms and announced the release of the Perceptual Computing Software Development Kit (SDK) beta. The SDK, targetted for release early next quarter, will enable hardware and software developers to bring gesture interaction, facial and voice recognition and augmented reality to life on existing and future Intel Core processor-based Ultrabook systems and PCs.

Reinventing computing

He also announced a Million Dollar prize as a way to help ignite the industry by pushing developers to develop really innovative perceptual applications. He said that the prize will be awarded to the developer who creates the best perceptual computing application using touch, gestures and other such interactions.

You can sign up for an update on when the SDK will be available for download here: http://software.intel.com/en-us/vcsource/tools/perceptual-computing-sdk. 

The Intel Perceptual Computing initiative is in part enabled on Ultrabooks using the Creative Interactive Gesture Camera. A small, light-weight, USB-powered depth sensor camera tuned for short-range interactivity and intended for users who are using their Intel-powered Ultrabooks, laptops or PCs within a range of roughly 6 inches to 3 feet. 

Object tracking will make remote controlling a whole lot easier

Designed for ease of setup and portability, it includes an HD webcam, an infra-red depth sensor and a built-in dual-array microphone, making it ideal for portable applications. The camera developer kit will be available sometime during Q4 of 2012. 

Using facial recognition and gestures for control

Intel Perceptual Computing SDK demo

The kit, SDK and the prize money is only available for Windows 7 and 8 applications, and there will be no SDK launched for the Apple Mac platform.