Face-detected gaming on the N900

08 March 2010

Are you one of those people who tends to move your whole body left or right when taking corners in racing video games? If so, this tech demo on the Nokia N900 could be for you.

Over on the official Nokia Blog, the Finns are showing off a very PlayStation EyeToy-like way to mobile gaming, controlling on-screen action with face detection. The game is Burger Face and the object of the game is to grab the falling burgers and avoid the falling knives — easy enough — but to control the hungry avatar you move your face around in front of the forward-facing camera on the N900, with the on-screen character following accordingly.

This is a fantastic idea for mobile gaming controls, which are currently plagued by awkward touchscreen controls and/or tiny keyboard buttons. Our only concern that after exercising certain neck muscles you might otherwise neglect (neck-cercising) you could end up looking a little too much like the Ultimate Warrior (face-paint optional).

Tags: mobile phone, nokia, n900, gaming, face detection