Top 5 Coolest Kinect Hacks

The hacking community is going crazy over Kinect. Microsoft admitted that they intentionally left the console’s USB port open. Hackers saw this as an opportunity to plug in their computers and explore more the capabilities of the device.

Maybe Microsoft was thinking that instead of putting money on research and development of Kinect, they better rely on the skills of nerds spending endless hours on their bedrooms tinkering new gadgets. This is a smart move for the company in order to uncover the next best thing in Kinect technology.

Enough of the long talks now, Gadg gathered the best and the coolest Kinect hacks made in the span of three weeks after the release of the device.

Kinect Lightsaber

Watch as the man turn an ordinary wooden stick to real-looking Lightsaber. Experience how it feels to be a Jedi without going to the outer space. This hack somewhat coincides with the recent demo play of Star Wars games at E3 2009.

Digital Art Creation

The hack not only allow users to create unique images but also make them move. The creator used a “Box Cloud” app which recognizes distance data collected by Kinect’s cam and renders them to become neon cubes. For more interactive control, user can use iPad to move the cubes from side to side, or to zoom in or out.

Kinect Demos Object Recognition

The demonstration seems repetitive but the deed of incorporating a recognition software into a Kinect is awesome. Maybe next time, the Kinect can detect more than toys and animals.

Animation Imitates Hand Gestures

This act of hackery is a genius. Watch as a simple animation moves according to the hand gestures made by a person. It is a modern version of hand and shadow puppetry.

KinectBot

Since the Kinect is equipped with an eye camera which can sense movement, Personal Robots Group at MIT built an iRobot Create which detects its tracks and send the signals back to a computer. For now, it looks like a hi-tech vacuum cleaner but when improved, it can become a tool to locate missing objects.