Via BBC News:
Microsoft’s Kinect controller has been hacked only a few days after it officially went on sale. Code to control the motion-capture device has been produced that allows it to be used with a PC rather than the Xbox game console. Those behind the hack are keen to use the device in schools, art projects and to aid human-robot interaction.
This opens many possibilities for using Kinect’s advanced motion capture for exploratory / artistic projects.
The hack follows a competition launched by Adafruit.
About Kinect, from Wikipedia:
Kinect for Xbox 360, or simply Kinect (originally known by the code name Project Natal), is a “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game platform. (…)
Kinect is based on software technology developed internally by Microsoft and range camera technology by Israeli developer PrimeSense, which interprets 3D scene information from a continuously-projected infrared pattern.
Updates:
Update 1, 15/11/2010:
CreativeApplications.net has posted a nice review of the latest developments regarding Kinect hacking:
http://www.creativeapplications.net/news/kinect-opensource-news/
Including a Processing library:
http://www.shiffman.net/2010/11/14/kinect-and-processing/
An openFrameworks add-on:
https://github.com/ofTheo/ofxKinect
And a nice early demo by Memo Akten:
Update 2, 16/11/2010:
Blog post by Memo Atken on the subject:
http://www.memo.tv/kinect_why_it_matters
Update 3, 17/11/2010:
Impressive Kinect hacks by Oliver Kreylos – including Kinect being used as a 3-D video capture tool
More on this: http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/11/kinect-hacks/
Update 4, 19/11/2010:
Interesting robotics experiments @ MIT – 3D mapping robot with gesture control; via Wired
More on this: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/11/gesture-controlled-3d-mapping-robot-just-add-kinect/
Theo Watson’s interactive puppet:
Update 5, 22/11/2010:
Interview by Create Digital Motion to some of the key players in these early Kinect explorations
http://createdigitalmotion.com/2010/11/kinect-hacking-and-art-round-table-why-it-matters-what-you-need-to-know/
Microsoft now “excited” by Kinect hacks (from Mashable)
http://mashable.com/2010/11/20/microsoft-kinect-hacks/
3D object manipulation by Dominick D’Aniello
Via http://kinecthacks.net/3d-object-manipulation-using-kinect/
Robert Hodgin uses Kinect and Cinder to blow himself up:
Via http://vimeo.com/17073934
New York Times article on the subject, from 21/11/2010:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/technology/22hack.html
Update 6, 23/11/2010:
Another good round-up of Kinect news, one week later:
http://www.creativeapplications.net/maxmsp/kinect-one-week-later-processing-of-cinder-maxmsp/
Update 7, 24/11/2010:
Article on New Scientist on the topic:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19762-inside-the-race-to-hack-the-kinect.html
Update 8, 28/11/2010:
TuioKinect has been released. TuioKinect tracks simple hand gestures using the Kinect controller and sends control data based on the TUIO protocol:
https://code.google.com/p/tuiokinect/
Demo:
Update 9, 2/12/2010:
Therenect, by Martin Kaltenbrunner
From http://vimeo.com/17330186:
The Therenect is a virtual Theremin for the Kinect controller. It defines two virtual antenna points, which allow controlling the pitch and volume of a simple oscillator. The distance to these points can be controlled by freely moving the hand in three dimensions or by reshaping the hand, which should allow gestures that are quite similar to playing an actual Theremin.
Update 10, 3/1/2011:
On OSCeleton and OpenNI:
http://createdigitalmotion.com/2010/12/your-skeleton-a-live-digital-visual-controller-thanks-to-kinect-whats-opening-up/
Update 11, 5/1/2011:
Kinect superpowers! :-)
Update 12, 5/1/2011:
Via Engadget :
“The Asus Xtion is a PrimeSense 3D depth camera built exclusively for PC. (…) should ASUS attract enough developers, it will even pull down applications from an Xtion online store. ASUS (…) will release an Xtion PRO developer kit in February to tempt all you Kinect hackers into coding magical things for the platform”
There are several attractive things to the Xtion:
– it should be cheaper than the Kinect, as apparently it does not have Kinect’s motors or microphones;
– there is a developer kit, so developing for Xtion should be easier and more legal than “hacking” the Kinect;
– there will be an app store (although this is quite vague and might not have enough critical mass)
What it also means is that there might be more devices like this in the future from more manufacturers, bringing natural interaction even more to the mainstream.