Report: Kinect Parts Cost Around $56 Total

A new teardown of Microsoft's new Kinect sensor for Xbox 360 claims that the device, which has a $150 retail price tag, has a bill of materials that amounts to around $56 total. Gamasutra sibling publication EETimes reported that about $17 of the total amount is attributed to the sensor's reference system, made up of the cameras, microphones and processor, as discovered by a TechInsights teardown. Israeli Microsoft partner PrimeSense is the company behind the technology of those key Kinect components, the PS1080 System on Chip and PrimeSensor reference design. Other companies that contributed to the Kinect's bill of materials include Marvell, Texas Instruments, Kionics, Allegro Microsystems and others. Microsoft launched the Kinect this month amid a marketing campaign reportedly in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The company expects to sell 5 million units during the holiday period, as it attempts to attract the mainstream audience enjoyed by the motion-sensing Nintendo Wii. Microsoft is continuing to invest in motion-sensing technology, as news emerged this month that the company would acquire California-based 3D sensing technology firm Canesta by the end of the year. Technology similar to Kinect could be applied to other areas outside of games, said Allan Yogasingam, technical marketing director for UBM TechInsights. "The future applications of this technology could be fascinating," he said. "I can see this being incorporated into television allowing users to change the channel by waving their hand, essentially replacing the remote control."