Microsoft patents “holodeck” style gaming system

immersive display experience

Imagine if, rather than having a gaming environment displayed on your TV screen, it was extended into your whole room. Well, that’s precisely what Microsoft envisions in a new patent.

Called “Immersive Display Experience”, the patent describes a system where a projector on top of your TV beams a gaming environment onto the walls and furniture of your living room. The idea is that, while the TV will remain the principal display, your surroundings will offer peripheral visuals in order to really drag your into the game.

A depth camera will detect your position as well as that of furniture and the like, correcting the image accordingly so that you don’t simply see a sofa painted with light, but the intended picture. It also mentions using a pair of 3D shutter glasses to make both the images from the TV and the projected display fully three dimensional.

It seems like a logical progression of Kinect in a way, so we’re interested to see if it’s something Microsoft actually follows through with or merely sits on.

[Patently Apple via Kotaku]