SingularityHub, Robbel discussed how KinectBot grew out of his research in robots that could locate trapped or missing people in a disaster. The Kinect’s ability to map terrain in 3-D and to recognize and respond to human gestures could eventually be teamed up with aerial drones and rapid-response teams to launch rescue operations.

This video shows how KinectBot was assembled and what it can do.

Bear in mind, this is just what Robbel calls a “weekend hacking project.” Imagine what Microsoft’s Robotics team — who’ve had a lot longer to play with the tech behind Kinect than the rest of us — might be cooking up in their labs.

Still a $150 off-the-shelf sensor like Kinect opens up the option box for everybody. Add the right mix of boops and beeps, a computer-hacking interface, jet packs and the ability to serve drinks and fix starships, and we’re just a few iterations away from a full-fledged R2-D2 unit. We’re living in the future.

See Also:

• How Motion Detection Works in Xbox Kinect
• How Facial Recognition Works in Xbox Kinect
• Alt Text: The Secret Diary of Sentient Kinect
• Kinect Hacks Already Yielding Impressive Results
• Another Kinect hack that's vastly more interesting than the games …
• How Wii and Kinect Hack Into Your Emotions
• Adafruit Offers $1000 Bounty for Open-Source Kinect Drivers …
• Kinect Running on Multiple Platforms, Looking Cool

Authors: Tim Carmody

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