Kinect
Microsoft introduced the Kinect device for the Xbox 360, allowing users to play games using of their body as the game controller. The Microsoft Kinect device eliminates the need for a physical game controller, fully immersing the user in the game environment. The Kinect uses an optical "eye" to detect the movement of the user and translates the movement into game control.
Since the first release of Kinect on November 4, 2010, many developers have begun adapting the Kinect technology into other uses besides Xbox 360 gaming. Applications have also been developed to allow the Kinect to control some aspects of a computer system, create 3-D images, provide video surveillance, and a whole bunch of other applications.
Due to the popularity of the Kinect device for Xbox 360 (over 10 million units sold by March 9, 2011), Microsoft announced they are releasing a Kinect device designed for computer use. They also released a Windows SDK (software development kit) package in June 2011, designed for use on Windows 7 systems. The SDK package allows developers to create applications based on the Kinect device and technology, for many different types of uses.