Microsoft Buys a 3D Chip Maker? Welcome to Its Future
It's another acquisition for Microsoft (MSFT) -- this time 3D chip maker Canesta. The company made the chip that enabled the Kinect, Microsoft's answer to the Nintendo Wii. This isn't Microsoft's first foray into acquiring 3D technology companies. It purchased 3DV, which apparently was the foundation for Kinect. Now CEO Steve Ballmer has the company that made the 3D camera chip, putting the company into a strong position for developing new user interfaces in the future.
But what is going on may be more than a way to keep competitors back. Put the additions into the context of some others that Microsoft has made and this could be the basis for a lot more than an extra feature on gadgets.
Here's a video that gives a clue as to what the technology can do in a PC application rather than a game (and the first minute should do, as the last two are half-speed repeat):
It would seem a natural evolution from multi-touch interfaces. Rather than constraining yourself to contact with a screen to make gestures, your fingers and hands move in the air. The Wii proved the popularity and Microsoft added it to its Xbox 360.
However, the video makes plain that Microsoft likely has interests that go well beyond games consoles. One reason that Apple (AAPL) has been so successful in the smartphone category is the touch interface. It's clear that people need new and more effective ways to use computers.
Buying the companies that made the Kinect technically possible might seem a short-term tactic to keep others from duplicating the effort, especially as Microsoft now owns dozens of patents in the area. However, setting up an exclusive license would have done the same. Why nail down the underlying technology, especially for the chips?
Remember that Microsoft licensed ARM Holding's (ARM) chip architecture in July. I think this is another in a series of acquisitions Microsoft will do in the semiconductor area so it can eventually have its own device chips that will carry advanced features that might act as a Trojan horse for its operating systems.
Whether broadening the use of a 3D visual interface would work in a wide variety of devices is still a question. During the recent Apple (AAPL) earnings call, CEO Steve Jobs made the point that using a multi-touch screen interface gets fatiguing and, therefore, off-putting when you have to keep your hands in the air. However, Microsoft needs to do something to get out of its rut, and even if some details don't work, developing a chip line, at least for mobile devices, would be a real change in strategy.
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Image: courtesy, Canesta