The specifications for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Kinect device has been revealed, and confirms that its audio system can be incorporated into in-game voice chat as well as Xbox LIVE Party chat removing the requirement of an Xbox 360 headset.

Sensor:

Color and depth-sensing lenses
Voice microphone array
Tilt motor for sensor adjustment
Fully compatible with existing Xbox 360 consoles

Field of View:

Horizontal field of view: 57 degrees
Vertical field of view: 43 degrees
Physical tilt range: 27 degrees
Depth sensor range: 1.2m – 3.5m

Data Streams:

320×240 16-bit depth @ 30 frames/sec
640×480 32-bit colour@ 30 frames/sec
16-bit audio @ 16 kHz

Skeletal Tracking System:

Tracks up to 6 people, including 2 active players
Tracks 20 joints per active player
Ability to map active players to LIVE Avatars

Audio System:

LIVE party chat and in-game voice chat (requires Xbox LIVE Gold Membership)
Echo cancellation system enhances voice input
Speech recognition in multiple languages

The specifications state that it can track up to 6 people, including 2 active players, but before you freak out - Kinect games such as Dance Central, and Kinect Adventures can track more than 2 active players. The tracking may be dependant upon what games individually allow, or this is an early spec’s sheet?

Kinect will work with every Xbox 360 and requires at least 175MB of memory and a USB port to function. The new ‘Xbox 360 S‘ console supports Kinect directly without needing the extra power supply.

Kinect and compatible Xbox 360 games will be released November 4th 2010

Source: GameStooge