SandyStation interactive sandbox uses Kinect to make topography much more interesting (video)

If you're not really into using your Kinect experiment to launch your new startup or give your nextpresentation, let us offer another entertaining option. Two students at the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen have created an interactive sandbox using Kinect, a projector, a computer and, of course, a box chock full of sand. The Xbox motion / depth detector is installed about two feet above the sand pit to measure each area that is carved out. Using a unique detection program, the topographical information is then transmitted to a data projector that renders an image in the sandpit -- the image being a color based on the height or depth of what has been created. The devs have built out a few different projections. Hills that are constructed by the user are assigned a shade of green based on height, while troughs are given blue hues according to depth. What's that? You built a hill and dug out the center? The projector sees that as a volcano, complete with spewing lava. If you're tired of SimCity and want to actually get your hands dirty, take a peak at the video just past the break.
[Thanks, Mark]

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/30/sandystation-interactive-sandbox-uses-kinect-to-make-topography/

Rumor mill: next gen Xboxes + Kinect 2 to read lips, track fingers, make unicorns real

Pinches of salt at the ready, folks. According to the latest speculation, Microsoft's sequel to the Xbox 360 will actually be two models, a pared down set-top box for casual gamers and a heftier model for the hardcore. Either way, Xbox 720 / Xbox Loop's getting paired up with a revised version of the magnificent Kinect hardware. The digital grapevine's saying that Kinect 2 will be able to read your lips, track your fingers and sense the tone of your voice to determine if you've come over all angry. It can't do that currently thanks to its USB cable, which can only transmit 16MB/s of data -- limiting the camera's resolution to 320 x 240 at 30fps. We don't know what protocol the new sensor bar will use, but we do know that either USB 3.0 (which can transmit 400 MB/s) or Intel's Thunderbolt (700MB/s) would remove such limitations. In related news, 2012's Kinect for Windows is getting a shorter USB cable for better data integrity and a refocused image sensor that will switch to "near mode" to see objects 50cm away -- which means a whole bunch of classic Kinects and Nyko Zooms are gonna wind up as a filling for a New Mexico landfill.

Source:http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/28/rumor-mill-next-gen-xboxes-kinect-2-to-read-lips-track-finge/