The Kinect hacks continue. Today we have a team who has put together a telepresence robot controlled via Kinect, and although you probably can’t remove a splinter with the thing, you could at least gesture a lot, and pick up blocks. Man, shades of the Robotic Operating Buddy for NES.
This Kinect-based R.O.B., developed by Willow Garage, is still in the early stages, but already it’s a huge step ahead of similar systems, which use far more expensive and complicated motion tracking systems, just in the fact that it works, and it’s off the shelf. I look forward to seeing how this project goes.
Also, did you notice the double-Kinect setup? I’m surprised they’re not interfering with each other. I’m sure we’ll figure out when and how that happens soon enough.
[via Fast Company and Gizmodo]