Kick Ass Kung Fu is a video game that will actually make you get off your couch to fight your enemies. The current prototype, developed by researchers at Helsinki University of Technology in Finland, uses a camera to record your punches, kicks, and head-butts and displays them on a giant screen.

The University has created a company, Animaatiokone Industries, to bring Kick Ass Kung Fu to home consoles. The game will debut in arcades and camera-equipped consoles (such as the EyeToy for PlayStation 2). The other hurdle the game needs to overcome before its commercial debut? In the prototype, the game takes up an entire room. To make it into your living room, Animaatiokone will have to recognized body movements in a fraction of that space.

And we’re not talking lame Kung Fu here. We’re talking Kick Ass Kung Fu. For his thesis, Hämäläinen used 46 martial arts experts to test the game. The next test will be in October during the 2006 Karate World Championships in Finland.  Kick Ass!

Kung-fu computer game delivers real kicks [New Scientist Tech]