Microsoft’s Newest Acquisition Is About 3-D Gesture Controls

Saturday, September 11th, 2010 at 18:47

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Microsoft has acquired Canesta, the manufacturer of semiconductor chips capable of sensing movement and gestures in 3-D.

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The technology could be applied to everything from Windows 8 motion controls to its Xbox Kinect motion-sensing device.

Canesta, founded in 1999, specializes in the 3-D sensors that power “Natural User Interfaces.” A NUI doesn’t require inputs like a mouse or a keyboard for user to interact with a program or interface; it gets its commands from natural human gestures. While the fictional UI utilized in the 2002 film Minority Report is the best-known NUI in popular culture, Microsoft actually owns two popular ones: Microsoft Surface and Xbox Kinect.

Canesta has raised approximately $ 60 million in funding since its inception from investors including Carlyle Venture Partners, Venrock and Honda. The latter is hoping to use Canesta’s technology to help its cars detect and avoid obstacles. The financial terms of the Microsoft acquisition were not disclosed.

Microsoft utilizes 3-D sensing technology from competitor PrimeSense in its Xbox Kinect gaming system, according to The New York Times. Kinect launches on November 4.

Today’s deal may be more about Canesta’s intellectual property than it is about bringing more natural user interfaces to Microsoft’s products. Canesta is the owner of 44 different patents on 3-D sensing technology, processing algorithms and chip design. Having those patents handy will be useful in avoiding lawsuits as Microsoft experiments with even more NUIs.