The new Kinect is reported to have an infrared sensor and will work in more living rooms.

A leaked document has reported to know the specs and capabilities of Microsoft's upcoming Kinect 2.0, the motor sensor device reported to be arriving with each and every Xbox 720 when the currently unannounced machine launches, presumably in 2013.

VGLeaks, which previously leaked a spec sheet for the next Xbox--codenamed Durango--has posted the information, showing a new sensor allowing for infrared detection alongside a big boost in the Kinect 2.0's ability to sense depth, colour, and a decreased latency period. The site claims this will be 60ms as opposed to 90ms, due to a switch to USB 3.0.

The Kinect 2.0 is reported to feature far superior skeletal tracking and the ability to detect up to six players, thanks to a far wider viewing angle over the original that allows the device to function without the need for a tilt monitor.

Even the quality of the camera is reported to be significantly superior, allowing for 30fps capture at 1080p as opposed to 15fps at a 640x480 resolution.

Like the original, the VGLeaks report says Kinect 2.0 will be a wired unit which sits separately from the main console, but will be able to work in a far greater number of rooms in varying lighting conditions. The machine will also be able to better function alongside furniture, hopefully making hasty living room reorganisations a thing of the past.

"As part of the process of producing the depth stream," says the VGLeaks report, "the sensor uses an active [infrared] stream. This stream is 512x424 at 30 frames per second. The active IR stream is stable across variable lighting conditions. For example, shadows, pixel intensities and noise characteristics are the same for a well-lit room the same as for no light in the room. As a result, this stream could be used for feature detection in situations where a color stream would be useless."

It is also alleged that the new Xbox will keep some of its resources set aside so that Kinect can be run across multiple applications. "Core Kinect functionality that is frequently used by titles and the system itself are part of the allocation system, including color, depth, active IR, ST, identity, and speech. Using these features or not costs a game title the same memory, CPU time, and GPU time," says VGLeaks.

For the latest on Microsoft's next Xbox, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

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