Kinect Fusion and Swivel by FaceCake hands-on video

We already took a look at Microsoft's Kinect Fusion work late last year, but we dropped by Microsoft's booth today to see some extra parts of Fusion and Swivel by FaceCake. Microsoft's Kinect for Windows SDK now allows third-party developers to create unique applications that leverage the power of Kinect, Swivel by FaceCake is a great example of that. The system allows shoppers to try on items of clothing virtually, and I got to try on a purple dress — not an everyday occurrence I promise.

Kinect Fusion, Microsoft's 3D interactive model of an environment, hints at the future of augmented reality use cases. Microsoft demonstrated the multitouch paint mode of Kinect Fusion today, explaining that the system could be used to project content from mobiles in future. Augmented reality is still widely unused, but clearly has potential for some interesting usage when coupled with a powerful sensor. If these two particular instances are anything to go by, Microsoft's Kinect effect vision could be a reality before the year is out.