Andre Yoskowitz
5 Nov 2010 16:39
Following Microsoft's launch of the Kinect motion control system yesterday, a couple of reviews from notable sites came in claiming that the "facial recognition" feature of the device was having trouble detecting people of darker skin.
One review, from GameSpot, had this to say: "Testing suggests facial recognition features of Microsoft's motion-sensing camera system might not work properly for some gamers... In testing the Kinect, two dark-skinned GameSpot employees had problems getting the system's facial recognition features to work."
Consumer Reports immediately took to the case, and has reported that Kinect is not "racist" in any way.
The site says that the facial recognition problems stems from lighting in the room and not from a player's skin tone. White or black, if you are in a room with low-level lighting, the system will have problems recognizing your face.
As for actually following the movements of players, CR says even in a pitch black room they had no issues with the Kinect seeing them.