Microsoft Kinect has been stripped down by folks at iFixit and have told us the things that goes into making a futuristic gaming device.
Major Observations:
- The motorized base can rotate the top sensor bar to track you as you dance around the room.
- About the size of an American quarter, the base has a tiny motor with three fragile plastic gears. Barring overheating issues with the top unit, we’re guessing this motor assembly will be the Kinect’s weak point.
- The innocent looking Xbox 360 sticker acts as cover for the third screw on each side of the Kinect.
- These are not tiny, cell-phone cameras— they’re closer to the camera you might find in a webcam, with large lenses and autofocus.
- Microsoft is using a USB-like connector for the Kinect. The Kinect uses 12 watts, which is quite a bit more than 2.5 watts of power provided by a standard USB port.
