Hack your Kinect: Links and resources to get started

Microsoft's Kinect is a hacker's dream. The combination of digital input, physical movement, sound and visuals inspires applications way beyond gaming. On first glance you can see how it could be used for special effects, music, 3-D modeling, even puppetry:

Below you'll find a curated list of Kinect hacks and resources from O'Reilly editor Brian Jepson. Be sure to also check out Adafruit's growing collection of Kinect hacks and Make's Kinect coverage.

The OpenKinect Project

Cracking open Kinect requires OpenKinect, a set of open source drivers that unlocks the device's potential. The drivers came about after Adafruit posted a $3,000 bounty. Microsoft at first hinted at legal action, but the company has since changed its stance.

You can learn more about OpenKinect through the following sites:

• OpenKinect Google Group
• OpenKinect wiki
• OpenKinect team members
• OpenKinect source code repository
• OpenKinect on IRC: #OpenKinect on freenode.net

A sampling of Kinect hacks

Kinect-Controlled Tesla Coils: The Evil Genius Simulator

Kinect Theremin

Kinect Hand Detection

Keyboard Anywhere

2 Kinects 1 Box: Creating a merged 3D reconstruction

DepthJS: Kinect + Javascript + Browser extension = Navigate web pages

3D video capture with source code

Real-time lightsaber

Kinect-controlled LED wall

Kinect as a midi controller

Want more? Check out Adafruit's great collection of Kinect hacks.

Share your Kinect hacks

We'd love to showcase your Kinect hacks. Share links in the comments below and through O'Reilly's Facebook page.

Related:

• 7 areas beyond gaming where Kinect could play a role