Kinect Hacks Already Yielding Impressive Results
Remember when Spanish super-brain Hector Martin hacked Kinect, got open source drivers running on PC and scooped up a cash prize for his efforts? Well, the fruits of his labors are already showing, as creators, hackers and developers begin using Kinect for interesting new projects.
The first properly impressive use of Microsoft’s new peripheral comes from Oliver Kreylos, as he shows off Kinect being used as a 3-D video capture tool. Thanks to the Kinect’s depth-sensing camera, which bounces thousands of infrared dots off objects in your room to detect how far away they are (much like sonar or echolocation, but with light), Kreylos can use that depth data to make a crude 3-D reconstruction of his room.
The results are, to put it mildly, mind-boggling. In the video above, the UC Davis visualization researcher shows how he can fly a virtual camera around his room, in real time, showing a 3-D representation of himself, his curtains, a mug of brew and his computer. Parts that the camera can’t see aren’t represented, making Kreylos look like half of a hollow husk, but it’s an impressive start. You’d presumably need a couple more Kinect devices to make a full 3-D image.
