Soccer Dad

Be an action hero in your own home

An Israeli company has developed software to allow just about anyone to participate in video games

This is XTR - Extreme Reality, a south Tel Aviv startup that has developed a technology that allows a user's three-dimensional body movements to be translated onto the computer in real time. When you run, so does the animated character in the game. When you throw a punch, or mimic the moves of tennis, the computer character does the same.

While many game developers are moving rapidly into this field, what makes XTR unique is that players don't require any special hardware to play these games. All they need is an ordinary webcam - something many computer users already own - and software. ThinkMinority Report, but without the glove.

This is the first time anyone has managed to translate the movement of a person into a three-dimension space using only software and a single camera. "For years people thought it was impossible," admits Michal Ludzki, 30, the company's CEO. "Game developers cannot believe we have managed to create this movement with software only. When they play with it, they are amazed."

virtual reality.

The usual way that a person is "captured" for a video game is to have sensors attached to him as he performs the activities his character will perform in the game. This would allow a person to be recorded without the sensors.