It was a little more than 10 years ago when the movie Minority Report illustrated the movement of visual data with hand gestures. It was considered at that time to be science fiction. But, it was less than three years ago that Microsoft showed off the Kinect for XBox 360. And 1 year ago MIT shared its multi-colored glove that was followed by a computer using an algorithm and data base to replicate movement. But the change became more rapid when Adafruit Industries offered a monetary prize for the best Kinect hack. (Hack is used in this context as the technique used to re purpose something for another use). The results over the last year have been remarkable in the uses being developed for the Kinect.
At first, Microsoft wanted to stop the re-purposing of their hardware and software, but soon realized that it was good for Microsoft. They have since offered a development kit for just such a use. And the new uses for Kinect have become exponential! So what is the trend amidst all of this activity? I believe that it will not take long for gesture technology to be standard with the purchase of a new laptop computer. It may have more than one webcam and perhaps a laser tracker, but it will be gesture sensitive. And, while moving around pieces and pictures on the screen will be commonplace, it will take a lot longer to parse out fine detail, such as words in a document. But, that too will come to pass.
For an opening window to what the Kinect can do, Hack A Day has 47 hacks and counting. Here. There are also several sites to search with just the words Kinect hacks. And as we all know, some gestures are better than others...
At first, Microsoft wanted to stop the re-purposing of their hardware and software, but soon realized that it was good for Microsoft. They have since offered a development kit for just such a use. And the new uses for Kinect have become exponential! So what is the trend amidst all of this activity? I believe that it will not take long for gesture technology to be standard with the purchase of a new laptop computer. It may have more than one webcam and perhaps a laser tracker, but it will be gesture sensitive. And, while moving around pieces and pictures on the screen will be commonplace, it will take a lot longer to parse out fine detail, such as words in a document. But, that too will come to pass.
For an opening window to what the Kinect can do, Hack A Day has 47 hacks and counting. Here. There are also several sites to search with just the words Kinect hacks. And as we all know, some gestures are better than others...
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