kinect-hacks
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Seattle Symphony uses Kinect to conduct robotic instruments
Microsoft might have scaled back its ambitions for Kinect, but creative modders and developers are still finding ways to put the peripheral to good use. Conductor Ludovic Morlot used the device to control three "kinetic" instruments -- a robotic grand piano, 24-reedhorn sculpture and custom concert chimes -- as part of an intimate Seattle Symphony performance on May 1st. During the 22-minute composition, Morlot could start, stop and control the volume of the instruments with gestures. Making a fist in different places let him select the unusual instruments, while waving the other hand up and down would change the amplification. The system was devised by Trimpin, a kinectic sculptor, sound artist and musician, and will remain in the Benaroya Hall so that visitors can try it for themselves. Microsoft seems to have given up on its second-gen Kinect, but mods like this one are a reminder of its untapped potential. Between this concert, a weird musical sandbox and a Nine Inch Nails festival tour, it seems to have a small future in the music industry.
MarionetteBot is a frightening fusion of Kinect and mannequin
Japan has found new heights (depths?) of creepiness today with the United Arrow Marionettebot, a custom Kinect hack pairing Microsoft's motion-tracking camera with display mannequins.The mannequins of United Arrow's clothing store mimic the poses and movements of passersby. It's billed as a marketing effort in the video above, despite being the stuff of nightmares.
Akimbo Kinect hack offers precise control with minimal effort (video)
We've seen Microsoft's Kinect used in countless ways, but 3Gear Systems means to better these predecessors with the beta release of its SDK, which turns all the subtleties of hand movement into actions. In addition to using two Kinect cameras for accuracy, the software compares hand poses against a pre-rendered database so gesture commands are executed with little lag. It offers complete control of a virtual 3D environment from the comfort of your natural desk position, so you won't have to worry about flail fatigue after long stints. A free public beta is available now until November 30th, at which point bigger companies will require a license, while individuals and small enterprises will continue to get complimentary access. We know what you're thinking -- it's just another Kinect hack -- but we suggest you reserve judgment til you've seen the demo below, showing examples of how the API could be used for CAD, medical, and of course, gaming applications.
MIT's real-time indoor mapping system uses Kinect, lasers to aid rescue workers
We've seen the Kinect put to use to help you find your groceries, but the sensor's image processing capabilities have some more safety-minded applications as well. The fine minds at MIT combined the Kinect with a laser range finder and a laptop to create a real-time mapping rig for firefighters and other rescue workers. The prototype, called SLAM (for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) received funding from the US Air Force and the Office of Naval Research, and it stands out among other indoor mapping systems for its focus on human (rather than robot) use and its ability to produce maps without the aid of any outside information, thanks to an on-board processor.
Microsoft sets up new subsidiary, would like to meet open source types
It's been a mixed bag when it comes to Microsoft and open source involvement, but Redmond's now getting all enthused, setting up an Open Technologies subsidiary dedicated to making friends in open source circles. While of other parts of the Redmond behemoth will also continue to work on open source projects, this new team of up to 70 internally-recruited staff members will attempt to engage with open source communities "in a more clearly defined manner" across Microsoft's legion of departments. If this possibly means more off-the-rails Kinect hacks in the future, bring it on.
Play this Kinect game and some may call you Tim
You have to love this Monty Python and the Holy Grail Kinect game, even though we all know that Tim the Enchanter had nothing to do with destroying the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog. Maybe someone will add the Holy Hand Grenade as DLC.You can learn more about the game's creation here.
How games can teach students 10 times faster, with more sweeping hand gestures
In order to ensure mankind's future as the dominant super-race on this planet, we must activate our youth through education -- and video games. Atari founder Nolan Bushnell has been testing education software for years and says he has created a method of teaching a full high school career in less than a year, using, in large part, cloud systems. "In cloud gaming you disconnect the system's administration from the computer to the cloud," Bushnell told GamesIndustry.biz. "It's going to be an important step for allowing technology into the classroom." Bushnell says his program teaches students 10 times faster than traditional methods, and his shortened high-school-span plan could be ready for implementation by the end of 2011. Not to be outdone, the Kinect-based education-resource blog KinectEDucation advocates using Kinect to augment learning environments, and is currently holding its Kinect in Education Contest, challenging hackers to create Kinect apps for use in classrooms. Two $500 prizes will be awarded, one for the most innovative and adaptable classroom software, and one for the "best" in-class video showcasing a Kinect classroom experience. The contest runs now through November 30.
KinectFusion HQ creates 3D models from your surroundings
We've seen people do some pretty awesome stuff with the Kinect that expands the peripheral's applications beyond the realm of controlling games, but we've yet to see anything that matches the wide-reaching implications of Microsoft Research's KinectFusion HQ concept. Using the Kinect's dual cameras, KinectFusion HQ can construct an accurate, high-quality 3D representation of an entire room in a matter of seconds. The longer the Kinect has to look at a specific object, the more detailed that object then becomes; able to accurately scan and render millimeter differences in texture. Once the room is rendered, the model can then be interacted with in real time, which the above (oddly silent) tech demo demonstrates in increasingly wild and mind-blowing ways. Since the Kinect is typically thought of as a stationary object, it will be interesting to see how this technology may eventually be implemented into gaming, since its primary functionality relies on moving the unit around the space you're scanning.
Make a stuffed monkey dance with Kinect
Using a Kinect sensor and a series of Arduino motors, modern artists Jan M. Sieber and Ralph Kistler have created the greatest thing ever: a stuffed monkey which you control with your own movements. Just click past the jump, dummy. You're wasting valuable monkey-watching time.
Kinect / Arduino hack makes stuffed monkey dance for your amusement
Just when you thought that people had squeezed the last drop of creativity out of Microsoft's Kinect, something like this comes along. It's a stuffed monkey with a robotic skeleton that can mimic the movements of the person standing in front of it. "Monkey Business" is an art installation of sorts created by Jan M. Sieber and Ralph Kistler. It uses a camera sensor from a Kinect, an Arduino mircocontroller, and 10 servomotors. The smirking robo-monkey, meanwhile, is suspended from the wall, giving it a full range of movement. The resulting video is pretty darn delightful.
Kinect Hacks: Gesture-controlled quadrocopter
Step by step, day by day, the world's researchers and engineers bring us ever closer to the reality of Kinect-enabled telekinesis. Check out a video demo below of Flying Machine Arena's clever hack, which enables even more precise control of a stunt quadrocopter using simple hand gestures.
Walk the Line: a 3D, Canabalt-like project for Kinect
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be the man in Canabalt? We haven't because, frankly, we've sent the little guy hurtling to his death very, very often. If your own morbid curiosity can overcome this grisly truth, you may be interested in Walk the Line, a Kinect project developed by students at ENJMIN, a games and interactive media school in France. Walk the Line tasks players with escaping a city as it falls down around them, physically dodging obstacles and leaping over chasms. You can see the action in the (all too brief) trailer above. We just hope the folks at Kinect Fun Labs – or even the good people at Microsoft Studios – are watching too.
Quadrocopters reined in by Kinect leash, we feel safer already
It seems like the folks over at the Flying Machine Arena are finally starting to catch on -- those quadrocopters are going to kill us all. Thankfully, after teaching them to juggle and tap out some tunes, the researchers came to their senses and put the flying machines on a Kinect-controlled leash. Instead of flitting about autonomously, the four-rotored nightmares are directed by a puppeteer waving his hands. Movement is controlled by the right hand, while raising the left one tells the copter to do a little flip for its master's amusement, and a commanding clap makes it sit down like a good little pup. Best of all, if you don't give it any arm-waving instruction it just hovers and waits until you tell it otherwise. On further consideration, maybe we haven't been creating our own murderers, but a new man's best friend -- after all, they don't eat much and can't chew up your remotes. Check out the video after the break.
Vote on the next Kinect hack to become a Kinect Fun Labs toy
You can be part of the ongoing experiments in Microsoft's Kinect Fun Labs. Six more well-known Kinect hacks are up for consideration as new Fun Labs apps, and Microsoft wants you to vote on the one you'd like to see first. The apps in question include Keyboard Anywhere, Virtual Conductor, Kinect Body Art, Hand Puppets, Digital Pin Art, and Music Visualizer. If you have a strong opinion about which hack you'd like to see on your Xbox first, hit the Facebook "like" button associated with your choice between now and July 6.
Kinect Graffiti creates neon tags with the wave of a hand (video)
Are you tired of Kinect hacks yet? We didn't think so -- good thing too 'cause we're not done bringing 'em to you. The latest one to hit our tips box comes from designer Jean-Christophe Naour (Innoiz Interactive), a 3D light-painting program he calls Kinect Graffiti. While calling the results "graffiti" might be a little misleading (Naour isn't exactly bombing virtual walls) it does whip up some nice streaky neon images that can capture the act of tagging, if not the final product. We won't waste any more of your time with our rambling -- a picture is worth a thousand words, and the video after the break is composed of over 4,000 of those. Don't miss the flood of photos at the more coverage link either.
Newest Kinect hack: a grocery cart that loyally follows disabled shoppers (video)
Microsoft's Kinect is the gift that keeps on giving for hackers, spawning everything from glasses-free teleconferencing to Tesla coil manipulation to uh, well, Android dance parties. But Luis de Matos's wi-Go project is one of the most socially conscious we've seen: it adds a laptop and (despite its name) a Kinect to a shopping cart, enabling the cart to follow a wheelchair user. Improving on the B.O.S.S. bot we saw a half-decade ago, the wi-Go could allow anyone -- including the disabled or elderly -- to shop independently, regardless of physical capability. De Matos doesn't offer many technical details, but see the video above for a before-and-after demonstration.
Kinect hack turns your living room into a crazy one-man laser techno dance party (video)
We've seen it aid surgery, help make smarter robots, and even do some gaming stuff, but honestly, what good is a controller if it can't fuel your crazy techno dance parties? Vimeo user Matt "Namethemachine" Davis posted a video showing a new hack for the peripheral, using its camera-based motion detection, combined with Ableton Live, DMX protocol, and more clever hackery to create a one-man electro-laser light show. It's easy to see this getting a bit out of control real fast in a room packed with overexcited club goers, but if you're looking to recreate the communal experience for you and your cat in your one bedroom apartment, this may be just the ticket.
Researchers hack Kinect for glasses-free 3D teleconferencing (video)
Since the dawn of Kinect hacking, we've seen cameras strung together (or rotated) to create 3D, video game-like environments, while others have tweaked it for headtracking. Others, still, have used it for teleconferencing (albeit, the flat, two-dimensional variety). Now, a team of researchers have gone and thrown it all together to achieve 3D video chats, and if we do say so, the result is greater than a sum of its parts. The group, based out of UNC-Chapel Hill, uses 3D mapping (and at least four Kinects) to render the video, and then employs headtracking on the receiving end so that people tuning in will actually see the live video in 3D, even without wearing 3D glasses. The result: a tableau that follows you as you move your head and spin around restlessly in your desk chair waiting for the meeting to end. That's mighty impressive, but we can't help but wonder: do you really want to see your colleagues in such lifelike detail? Have a gander at the video and decide for yourself.
Kinect Hacks: Trippy techno-massage
Though we never assumed that muscular relaxation and gaming peripherals would ever dovetail, massage therapist Jason Stephens has whipped up a Kinect hack that combines the two. Check out Stephens' "technologically mediated healing modality" in this clip, and get ready to taste the colors.
Pac-Man reimagined with Kinect and Unity3D
YouTube user buptkangbo used the Unity3D game engine to develop a sort of 3D version of Pac-Man -- or, at least, a game roughly equivalent to what someone who has never seen Pac-Man would imagine if you had just described it to them. A yellow sphere walks around through a grassy field, collecting mushrooms and throwing them at ghost monsters. That's cool; the "official" Pac-Man platformers took lots of liberties, too. What makes this particular version unique is that it's controlled with Kinect, played dolphin-style -- by which we mean the player leans into the camera as if swimming underwater. See for yourself after the break. If the demo actually becomes available for download and you then decide to try it, we suggest having plenty of snack foods handy for the full Pac-Man experience.
