Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve seen amateur and professional developers alike do some really cool things with Microsoft’s Kinect since the motion control peripheral launched in 2010. Interestingly enough, many of these cool things have nothing to do with video games, but that’s another story for another time. The latest in a long line of cool gadgets that put Kinect in the spotlight is a new wearable device that has the ability to make maps in real time.

Specifically, this gadget is geared toward mapping the inside of buildings. Developed by MIT, the device combines a laser range finder with the depth-perceiving abilities of Kinect to generate maps of an area in real time. The unit also houses a CPU to process and construct the map (in the prototype, the user has a laptop in his backpack constructing the map as he walks around), and the map can be sent back to a remote station so those outside of the building can get an idea of its layout.

Also included in this package is an inertial sensor to compensate for the fact that it’s hard to keep the laser perfectly level while walking, and a barometer to measure changes in air pressure, allowing the gadget’s user to map out multiple floors. This technology was developed for use in emergency situations, with applying it to search and rescue operations specifically mentioned. The prototype seems to be a bit bulky at this early stage, but the developers imagine a finished product that is handheld. Check it out in action in the video posted below.

The US Air Force and the Office of Naval Research helped MIT with the project, which suggests that this device could have some military applications in the future. For now, its simply in its prototype stage, but that doesn’t change the fact that its still a really interesting device. What do you think of this latest MIT creation?

[via MITnews]

Kinect takes center stage in new map making gadget is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
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One of the most widely-used and commercially successful motion-sensing pieces of hardware has been Microsoft’s Kinect. Microsoft bundled it up with its Xbox game console and since then, Kinect has been flying right off the shelves. However, until now, we haven’t seen a viable motion-detecting technology which can be commonly used with smartphones and tablets.

EyeSight gesture control intends to change this. The best part about this technology is that it doesn’t require any modifications to the hardware of a smartphone or a tablet. All it requires is that the device must be equipped with a camera. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Kinect e-mail hack allows stroke victim to communicate electronically, Nissan rolls out Kinect-powered showrooms across the US,

Stroke can be quite a disabling disease if it is a serious case, and for those who have had the language centers of their brain impaired, even everyday things that we used to take for granted such as writing or typing e-mails end up being difficult tasks. Since necessity is the mother of all invention, an enterprising inventor decided to take one of Microsoft’s Kinect systems and developed an email interface based on it, so much so that his mom, a stroke victim, is able to send simple emails to her friends as well as family. You can view the hacked Kinect system in action above.

Chad Rubles is the brain behind this idea, where he did a dry run with an Arduino-based physical interface initially, but decided to throw in a more digital side to the system by creating a “Kinectified” software interface instead. The user interface has a virtual dashboard that carries with it a host of emoticons, a series of level or intensity buttons, and a green arrow and red X. You can then choose from one of the current crop of nine emotions, and when you arrive at the level of said emotion, generate and send the e-mail with said arrow. The red button refreshes the dashboard, and simple gestures are all that is required to get the job done. Nifty, no?

Microsoft’s Kinect system does seem to be one of the more flexible systems out there to be tinkered with, don’t you think so?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Kinect turns Google’s Gmail Motion April Fools joke into reality , Nissan rolls out Kinect-powered showrooms across the US,

Kinect for Windows will arrive in style to China and other new markets starting October 8th, sporting a brand new SDK. The new developer kit will add features like color camera settings and extended depth data, as well as more tools and samples like a UI demo based on Kinect‘s so-called human interface guidelines. Chinese users won’t be the only ones waving hello for the first time this fall though, as Chile, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Poland have also been added to the list. All told, 38 countries will be able to tinker with the Kinect by the end of the year, and Microsoft envisions an era “where we’ll be able to interact intuitively and naturally” with our computers. Some of Redmond’s userbase may want it to start somewhere else with that quest.

Filed under: Peripherals, Software

Kinect for Windows SDK to add new features, markets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 05:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t you just hate it when you go to a store to buy something you’ve been eyeing for a long time, only to find out that they’re sold out to the point where the display models are no longer available either? Well it seems like Nissan is looking to change that by introducing Microsoft’s Kinect to their showrooms across the US. Basically what this does is that it allows customers to inspect a vehicle virtually while at the showroom, letting them check out cars that are either not available for physically touching or test driving, or have yet to roll off the assembly line.

The inspection is done using gestures which are read by the Kinect and even allows customers to “kick the tires” of the virtual vehicle. We’re not sure what’s that like, but customers will be able to bend down to check its tires, take a tour around the exterior of the vehicle, and get “inside” the vehicle to experience the size, layout and various gadgets that might come with the vehicle. This program kicked off with the Nissan Pathfinder which will not be available for testing until Autumn and will be rolled out to sixteen dealerships across 13 states in the US. You can see it in action in the video above. [Press release]

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft Kinect gets price drop to $109.99, Kinect could see action in mobile cameras thanks to Microsoft patent,