When Microsoft showed off their Project Natal technology, there was a mixed reaction.  While the potential for a system like this is clearly huge, there were many who doubted the ambitious project could do what it said it could.  We still have no idea if the Natal works like it’s supposed to, but at least we know there are some brilliant people working on the thing.

Remember the YouTube videos showing how the Wii could be modified to perform crazy 3D head-tracking?  The one that made people flip out at the possibilities the Wii held when you flipped the placement of the Wi –mote and the sensor bar?  The guy responsible for those videos is Johnny Lee, and he’s been working on Natal for some time now.

In regards to the project, Lee is impressed and beyond optimistic, stating that "The sophistication and performance of the algorithms rival or exceed anything that I've seen in academic research, never mind a consumer product." 

Lee’s stamp of approval doesn’t necessarily mean that the Natal will change gaming as we know it, or even that it will work right, but it does make it easier to give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt.  Personally, I hope it works like a dream, and revolutionizes gaming.  Then again, I’ll say the same thing about Sony’s motion-controller and the OnLive service.  I’m just an optimistic guy, I suppose.