(Source: http://research.microsoft.com/)

There is some crazy awesome technology coming out of Las Vegas this week as the annual International Consumer Electronics Show takes over the Las Vegas Convention Center.  And you though 3-D was the future. In a partnership between Samsung and Microsoft, a new awesome level of interactive living space is in the works. Microsoft calls it “Ilumiroom” and it works in concert with your Xbox Kinect.

The technology works via your Kinect making a map of your living space. A projector then takes that space and adds additional visuals that make the images on your tv look like they are popping out beyond the screen. The effect looks very similar to 3-D, however it is actually 2-D images being projected on your walls and ceiling. Fire will flare out of your television. Objects that fly towards the screen will appear to enter your living room. Microsoft promises to unveil more in April, but for now, here is a video on what you can expect to see in your living room in the near future. 

Microsoft has a few additional videos over at their research website (here). They claim that all their footage is 100% real and not computer enhanced trickery.

Currently they are only talking about how this technology will make video games more immersive, but commenters over at IGN have already started asking the most important question: What does this mean for porn?

(Via The Verge and IGN)