Today, we got a family xbox. I wanted a Kinect so much because people are programming applications for it using OpenFrameworks.
OF: http://www.openframeworks.cc/
Open source, community-made Kinect drivers for mac and linux: https://github.com/ofTheo/ofxKinect
Examples:
Bird puppet: http://vimeo.com/16985224
3d drawing in space: http://vimeo.com/16818988
PLAYING MARIO WITH YOUR SELF: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CTJL5lUjHg
and so on.
But the one we got doesn’t have a USB cord =( =( =( because it came with a newer model of the xbox that has a proprietary port for the kinect. If you use an older xbox, you have to buy a kinect with a cord that splits into a USB plug and a power plug. But this new Kinect+newXbox bundle doesn’t come with a USB cord cuz the new proprietary port handles both data and power.
I REALLY hope that I can buy a converter. It’s not as simple as just getting another cable, unfortunately, because it seems that you can’t just exchange cables…. the proprietary cable is actually stuck into the kinect with molded plastic. =( I am devastated that I cannot hook it up riiighhhtt nooowwww. Hopefully I’ll figure it out soon.
Among other things, I want to program:
- a learn na’vi game, with an “explore” mode and a “test” mode… plus a “play with your friends” mode where you try to beat each other by acting out vocab words quickly (like “jump” , “fly” , “run”). it would have to have little na’vi avatars.
- lisa’s plankton avatar creator…
- a drawing tool to aid with learning chinese characters. you could trace characters with your hand, in air, while watching yourself on the screen and learning the correct stroke order. we did this in 2nd grade, in chinese school.
- modern dance and mixed-media drawing. draw a puppet that a dancer can manipulate in real-time