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Kinect Hacks: Self-driving car
Kinect has already gained the ability to fly, and now it can drive. Researchers at University of Bundeswehr Munich attached a Kinect sensor and a laptop to a small (formerly) remote-controlled car, loaded it with software based on the program used to run the MuCAR-3 in the DARPA Urban Challenge, and made a tiny, self-navigating car. In the video after the break, the adorable little robot proves that it can carefully avoid obstacles -- even really tiny traffic cones. We're left with only one question after this demonstration: where can we get our own tiny traffic cones?
Kinect gets own set of wheels, drives a car, nothing can stop it now (video)
Yeah, we're a sucker for a good Kinect hack, and we're a sucker for anything involving RC cars, too. Happy day for us, then, as the two come together in blissful harmony with this project from Michael Schweitzer and Michael Himmelsbach at the University of Bundeswehr Munich. It's a 1:10 scale auto with Microsoft's fancy cam mounted up front and what looks to be a surplus Dell XPS M1330 riding in style on the back. The laptop is running a simplified version of the object-avoidance software used by the team to propel a full-sized and similarly autonomous VW, obviously shrunken down a bit for this application. This little 'un is a little shaky right now, but that's largely because they haven't managed to get an accurate odometer working yet. Still, it does avoid obstacles, as you can see, and now all it needs is some Lexan bodywork before it can look pimpin' when cruising the strip -- autonomously, of course. Update: This post was updated to clarify how the object avoidance software was used previously.
