Speaker 1: Microsoft recently made the decision to discontinue production of the
Speaker 1: Connect peripheral for the Xbox one. What went wrong? I'm
Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland, and this is tech Stuff Daily. Back in
Speaker 1: two Microsoft unveiled a new accessory for the Xbox three
Speaker 1: sixty console. Internally, the product had been known by the
Speaker 1: code name Project Natal. When it came time for its debut,
Speaker 1: it was known by another name, the Microsoft Connect. Technically,
Speaker 1: the twenty unveiling wasn't the first time the public got
Speaker 1: to get a glimpse at the technology. Microsoft had shown
Speaker 1: off the concept in two thousand nine at E three,
Speaker 1: also known as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, but the twenty
Speaker 1: ten demonstration was where Microsoft pulled out all the stops.
Speaker 1: The Connect used microphones and optical sensors to turn a
Speaker 1: person's voice commands and gestures into executable commands in various
Speaker 1: apps on the Xbox. This probably goes without saying, but
Speaker 1: the main focus was on gaming. The cameras used a
Speaker 1: type of mapping to get a sense of depth in
Speaker 1: an environment. This involved the use of both a projector
Speaker 1: and a camera. The projector used light in the infrared range,
Speaker 1: which is beyond the range of human perception. If you
Speaker 1: could see infrared light, you notice that the Connect would
Speaker 1: shoot up thousands of tiny dots from a projector. These
Speaker 1: dots helped the Connect map out what was in front
Speaker 1: of the camera, and since how far away different elements
Speaker 1: were moving through the area would create a distortion in
Speaker 1: those dots, which the Connect could interpret as specific commands
Speaker 1: and translate it into the appropriate responses on screen. That meant,
Speaker 1: if you were playing a game in which you were, say,
Speaker 1: fighting off hordes of ninja, the Connect would detect where
Speaker 1: you jumped, leaned, dodged, duct or otherwise moved around. There
Speaker 1: was no need for a controller, Your actions were the controller. Initially,
Speaker 1: the Connect was extremely popular. It's sold like hotcakes, and
Speaker 1: by that I mean Microsoft sold an average of one
Speaker 1: hundred thirty three thousand, three hundred thirty three units per
Speaker 1: day for the first sixty days the device became available
Speaker 1: in the United Kingdom, which was fast enough for the
Speaker 1: Guinness Book of World Records to declare it the fastest
Speaker 1: selling gaming peripheral of all time at that point. Anyway,
Speaker 1: hackers particularly like the Connect. The early Connect was relatively
Speaker 1: easy to hack, and the capabilities of the device meant
Speaker 1: you could create a lot of interesting potential applications. For example,
Speaker 1: hackers took the hardware and turned it into a cheap
Speaker 1: three D scanner. The depth sensing technology of the optics
Speaker 1: meant you could scan a three dimensional object and create
Speaker 1: a virtual representation of it pretty handily with the right
Speaker 1: hacks and software. The CONNECTS sensor also allowed for interesting
Speaker 1: applications in the field of robotics. Vision is a tricky
Speaker 1: thing to incorporate in robots. The Connects sensors allowed roboticists
Speaker 1: to design systems that could more accurately survey an environment
Speaker 1: and navigate around it. My favorite hack using a connect
Speaker 1: was for a robotic trash can minorro carrata. An engineer
Speaker 1: used a connect sensor mounted to a wall to track
Speaker 1: the trajectory of a throne piece of rubbish. A trash
Speaker 1: can mounted on a small motorized wheeled platform would receive
Speaker 1: instructions on where to move in order to intercept the
Speaker 1: rubbish as it fell to the ground. It was a
Speaker 1: clever display of what the connect could do when paired
Speaker 1: with the right software. Upon the launch of the Xbox One,
Speaker 1: Microsoft revamped the connect. One of the big changes made
Speaker 1: it much more challenging for hackers to take advantage of
Speaker 1: the hardware. This was a disappointing blow to the hacking community.
Speaker 1: Microsoft had been waffling on whether the company wanted to
Speaker 1: encourage or discourage hackers from meddling with the Connect. The
Speaker 1: Xbox One implementation seemed to indicate the company had cited
Speaker 1: against hackers. That didn't stop the hacking community. However, Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: on the mainstream front, Microsoft was having trouble making the
Speaker 1: Connect appear relevant. The hardware simply didn't have enough compelling uses.
Speaker 1: The games made for the Connect were largely viewed as
Speaker 1: interesting curiosities but not must play titles, and using the
Speaker 1: Connect to navigate through the Xbox ecosystem wasn't universally except
Speaker 1: Since the original Connect went on sale in twenty Microsoft
Speaker 1: sold about thirty five million units, and while it was
Speaker 1: originally bundled with the Xbox One, customers balked at paying
Speaker 1: the premium price for a peripheral that had yet convinced
Speaker 1: the public that it was a must have accessory. Microsoft
Speaker 1: conceded by offering the Xbox One for sale without the Connect.
Speaker 1: The demise of the Connect wasn't quick or unexpected. Microsoft
Speaker 1: had largely been withdrawing support for the device over the
Speaker 1: last couple of years. When the company introduced the Xbox
Speaker 1: one S, one of the notable features missing from the
Speaker 1: new console was the dedicated Connect port. This seemed to
Speaker 1: be an admission from Microsoft that the Connects days were
Speaker 1: coming to an end. That admission is now official, as
Speaker 1: Microsoft representatives confirmed with the news outlet Fast Code Design
Speaker 1: that manufacturing of the connect has ended. The company will
Speaker 1: continue supporting the Connect, but no further development is expected.
Speaker 1: While the sensor may have ultimately been a failure as
Speaker 1: an Xbox peripheral, the technology has found its way to
Speaker 1: other products. The Microsoft Hollow Lens is an example. The
Speaker 1: a R headset uses some of the same technologies found
Speaker 1: in the Connect, and you can find features similar to
Speaker 1: the Connects facial recognition system and products like the iPhone
Speaker 1: eight and ten handsets. So while the form factor may
Speaker 1: be dead, the tech lives on. To learn more about sensors,
Speaker 1: game consoles, augmented reality, and everything else tech, subscribe to
Speaker 1: the tech Stuff podcast. I explore tech topics in greater
Speaker 1: detail and share with you what really makes them work.
Speaker 1: That's all for today. I'll see you again soon.