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  • #1

    Kinect on PC

    We have a Kinect sitting in a cupboard waiting for Christmas.

    I am SO looking forward to doing this:

    Kinect hacks let you control a web browser and Windows 7 using only The Force (updated)
    http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/25/kinect-hack-lets-you-control-a-web-browser-using-only-the-force/
    Hacking the Xbox 360 Kinect is all about baby steps on the way to what could ultimately amount to some pretty useful homebrew. Here's a good example cooked up by some kids at the MIT Media Lab Fluid Interfaces Group attempting to redefine the human-machine interactive experience. DepthJS is a system that makes Javascript talk to Microsoft's Kinect in order to navigate web pages, among other things. Remember, it's not that making wild, arm-waving gestures is the best way to navigate a web site, it's just a demonstration that you can. Let's hope that the hacking community picks up the work and evolves it into a multitouch remote control plugin for our home theater PCs. Boxee, maybe you can lend a hand? Update: If you're willing to step outside of the developer-friendly borders of open-source software then you'll want to check out Evoluce's gesture solution based on the company's Multitouch Input Management (MIM) driver for Kinect. The most impressive part is its support for simultaneous multitouch and multiuser control of applications (including those using Flash and Java) running on a Windows 7 PC. Evoluce promises to release software "soon" to bridge Kinect and Windows 7. Until then be sure to check both of the impressive videos after the break. [Thanks, Leakcim13]


    And I'm sure there'll be so much more to come. A Kinect only costs twice that of a high-end mouse. I see an interesting for this product.

    FT.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Be careful: http://gizmodo.com/5699311/your-marr...our-television
    I hope little Tone is not reading Murc, or he knows what Santa will bring him!

    It is fun to see that the technology that seemed very science fiction in Minority Report, so now available. All that is missing is the display projected in mid air (but there are devices for that on the market as well, albeit very early stage). And unlike Tom Cruise, we don't even need gloves!

    Jörg
    pixar
    Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

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    • #3
      hehe, yeah the kids already know we have it (Santa and the tooth fairy are cousins, right?). Luke has a birthday in a couple of weeks so there'll no doubt be pressure for it to make an appearance then but I'm ok with being mean

      That must have been one heck of a ring!!!
      FT.

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      • #4
        Kinect update:

        Ok, so using the xbox with the kinect is fun, for a few minutes.

        This thing has HUGE potential to revolutionise gaming, but so far the games available are the weak link. There are some simple sports, a bit of dancing, playing with cute pets.
        And then the reliability varies enormously. Done well it works very well, but take the Sonic skateboarding or the Harry Potter game, both almost impossible.

        I still have high hopes. I think the hardware is ahead of the software.

        Some might find this article on how machine learning helps Kinect track one or two subjects interesting:

        http://www.theinstitute.ieee.org/portal/site/tionline/menuitem.130a3558587d56e8fb2275875bac26c8/index.jsp?&pName=institute_level1_article&TheCat=2201&article=tionline/legacy/inst2011/jan11/featuretech.xml
        FT.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by Fat Tone View Post
          I think the hardware is ahead of the software.
          Isn't it always?

          I just wonder how it feels to control something without holding anything... perhaps more on a psychological level. Does that work? I have the feeling it might feel unnatural (you never interact with something without holding something else). Is there some from of trigger operation you can do to control more things in games, or are all the games purely full-body motion based?

          Jörg
          pixar
          Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die tomorrow. (James Dean)

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          • #6
            It's mainly body or limbs, controlling a character on screen. If you are used to doing sports on the Wii that don't require accurate button pressing then its not too alien. I haven't tried the driving game, where you pretend to hold a steering wheel - I imagine that feels very strange. There's lots of jumping, ducking, leaning, waving of arms, kicking feet (and even laying down when training the kinectimals, very funny to watch).
            FT.

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