Jared St. Jean - Kinect Hacks: Tips & Tools for Motion and Pattern Detection

The way we interact with machines is always changing. As technology evolves, new ways of interacting with computers become available to us, one innovative breakthrough after the next. If we go back 10 years, RIM was just starting to implement phone capabilities into their line of Blackberry mobile devices. Now we have touch screens capable of delivering a full computing experience in the palm of our hands. Voice recognition software is finally becoming mainstream with the introduction of Siri on the iPhone 4S. We are rapidly entering an age in which being tethered to an accessory or peripheral, such as a mouse or keyboard, will be considered an archaic way of getting things done.

Touch screen interfaces are all the rage right now, but the next true evolution in human/computer interaction won't require you to physically touch a thing. You've seen it before in a number of sci-fi films: some guy in a futuristic get up is waving his hands around, barking orders at a computer that seamlessly tracks his movement and executes every command with flawless accuracy. The proper name for this type of computer interaction is called a Natural User Interface (NUI), which describes the ability to issue commands to a device using nothing more than your own natural body movements, gestures, and voice. You'll no longer need to clean those germ-infested keyboards and touch screens or pick up new batteries for your wireless mouse or gaming controller. The possibilities are truly endless, and we're already starting to see deployments of NUI interactivity all over the world. Soon you'll see NUIs in store windows, bus stations, malls, as well as many other places that could benefit from adding natural human interaction to the process of selling and providing information.

One great piece of tech that has ushered in this new wave of creative development is the Microsoft Kinect. The Kinect has introduced itself to the masses at the best possible time. In its short existence, it has proven to be a great option for those looking to spice up the way we work with computers. For starters, the Kinect is a fraction of the cost of most professional 3D depth sensing cameras. A wide assortment of programs allow you to use Kinect 3D depth data with Windows, Linux, and Mac machines. Whether you're an innovative professional interested in bleeding edge tech, or a part time hobbyist with a great new idea, the Kinect is easy to set up, it's cheap, and it's loaded with potential to change the way we interact with machines.

My intention from the start was to write a book that everyone could take something from. Whether you're completely new to the scene or have been tinkering around with the Kinect since its debut, there's something in here for everyone. Some of the hacks range from basic installation of tool sets or programs to detailed code write-ups relating to a wide range of available IDEs such as Processing and openFrameworks.

There are gesture-based solutions that work with a quite a few diverse applications in this book. For music related application, there is information on how to set up Ableton Live with Kinectar. If mocap is your thing, there are tips and tricks for using Blender or Animata with NI mate. HTML5 and JavaScript integration is included using Zigfu's ZDK along with full-on 3D object and scene recreation written in C++ using PCL and OpenCV. If visual effects are your thing, be sure to check out all the diverse Kinect hacks using open source IDEs such as Processing and openFrameworks.

Whether you're looking for some fun projects to work on in your spare time or finding the perfect jump off spot to get started on your next big project, I believe you'll be able to find something in here that will appeal to you. Whatever is your proverbial cup of tea, there's definitely something in here for everyone to enjoy working on.