Microsoft Patents Wearable Motion Controller

New Microsoft tech opens a whole world of new possibilities for next-gen motion controls.

Microsoft has received a patent for multiple types of wearable EMG devices, which could be used in the future to make a new generation of motion controllers.

An Electromyographic device, or EMG, records and transmits muscle movement to computers via a wireless or wired connection. Microsoft's "Wearable EMG Controller", as they call it, would potentially allow users to control devices, including smartphones, computers, and games, based on body movement.

Microsoft filed a few versions of the wearable EMG, including an armband, a watch, a shirt, and even a version where users attach small nodes directly to their skin.

The device(s) can be custom-calibrated to tie certain bodily movements to computer commands, an essential component for a gaming controller, which will be used differently by every piece of software.

Unlike the Kinect, which reads your movements with a camera and sensor, the EMG records electrical signals sent to your muscles, resulting in a much quicker and more accurate experience.

Since Microsoft just received the patent for these devices, don't expect to see a prototype in the wild for in the near future. Could wearable EMGs make it to the Durango? Consdering that Microsoft says they don't plan to announce the next Xbox at E3, a wearable "Kinect 2" isn't entirely outside the realm of possibility.

[From US Patent Office Via Engadget]

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