9 Ways Depth Sensing Will Make Computing a More Immersive Experience

New innovations in depth-sensing technology coming soon from Intel will make your devices’ cameras more powerful than ever before. They’ll do more than create incredible photos—they’ll make computing feel more like real life.

1. Say Goodbye to Your Mouse

With a computer that recognizes and responds to your movements, there will be no need to move your mouse. Simply wave your hand around the screen to navigate through your computer. Files and data are closer to your fingertips than ever before.

2. Your Keyboard Will See Less Work

Typing will be a thing of the past when you can you use voice commands coupled with gestures to navigate the web. The seamless interaction will make computing faster and easier than ever.

3. Move to Make Music

Making music digitally is more intuitive than ever when everything you need is displayed for you right on the screen. With Intel® RealSense™ technology your computer will be able to track your fingertips and respond to your movements, so an app like Drummer will enable you to create a synthesized beat using nothing more than gestures and head tilts. Everything you need to record your first hit single is within reach!

4. You Won’t Play Games—You’ll Live Them

Depth cameras will help you play more than just music. As depth cameras facilitate gesture recognition, video games will become more interactive. The games will react to your every move, making it feel like you’re really there. For example, instead of using a traditional controller, you will be able to use the emotion-tracking capabilities of your depth camera to play a game using nothing but your facial expression.

5. Create Art Out of Thin Air

Art programs are easier to manipulate when they react to the nuanced movements of your hands. Sculpt intricate digital creations right in the air, or paint something with an array of colors right at your fingertips.

6. Focus on Your Conference

Depth cameras will make video chatting with friends and family even more exciting. Apps like Personify will cut out the distracting backgrounds and superimpose your image onto the screen to make it feel like you’re meeting in a virtual space—useful when explaining something that needs visual aid, or when you’re walking someone through a new program or website.

7. Bring Digital Objects to Life

With a simple scan of your surroundings, you can insert digital objects into your real life. Once your depth-sensing camera has snapped the room you’re in, you can watch digital creations interact and move them around real space. You can use this functionality for educational purposes or recreation: Let children interact with objects they would otherwise never see, or insert a concert right into your living room to make it look like your favorite band is playing a private show.

8. Make Story Time More Enthralling

Some day soon special books that work with depth cameras may make reading a completely new experience that engages all the senses. Children will be able to scan these books and watch the pages come alive on the computer screen. The young users can then manipulate what’s happening with various hand gestures and movements.

9. Your Computer Will Know Your Mood

Emotion tracking through a depth camera will allow your computer to figure out your mood and respond to it. Feeling stressed? Here’s some calm music. Confused? Soon your computer will be able to swoop in to help. The experience will be completely tailored to your personal needs and interests.

Intel RealSense technology uses depth-sensing innovations to bring your digital world to life—and vice versa. Learn more here.