Microsoft has struggled to justify the Kinect on the Xbox One as anything other than a novelty, but if you’ve ever shopped for clothes online, the company may have just found a killer app: a program that shows you how the clothes you’re shopping for will fit on you.
Called “The Mall,” the app is pretty simple: Pick out some clothing from retailers, stand in front of the camera, and it’ll map the clothes over your body. No, you don’t have to be naked, you just need to be in a reasonably well-lit room so the Kinect can make out the contours of your body. If something looks unflattering on you, you’ll be able to see it on the screen and pick out something else. If you like what you see, buy it with a handy app and get it shipped.
The range of retailers this works with the app is a bit limited at the moment. Mostly athletic wear (bike shorts, yoga pants) and t-shirts for gamers is available right now, as that stuff’s more form-fitting and easier to map to a computer model. But the technology is intriguing, to say the least, and we might see more of it at home as it improves. We just hope the Kinetic doesn’t archive the more embarrassing fashion choices. Hammer pants are only fun until the Internet sees you wearing them.
(via Engadget)