Microsoft has taken a rather interesting stance on others experimenting with their Kinect hardware. For one they did not make any real attempt to protect the USB connection. This has led to the near immediate emergence of an open source driver which allows people to capture the input from the cameras with a standard desktop OS. Its like MS is actually encouraging people to screw around with it.

At any rate it is amazing what Kinect enthusiasts have done in a relatively short time. Here are some videos

The depth sensor is what really sets Kinect apart. Until now the technology has not been available at so cheap a price and enthusiasts are having a field day.

One can only imagine what developers are now coming up since they have had their hands on the device for much longer.

I like this one myself, who needs buttons when you entire environment are your buttons.

Yeah. Great stuff really. Here is a site that tracks new hacks as they are made known. It really blows the mind what Kinect is capable of.

http://kinecthacks.net/

I love the lightsaber version.

The autonomous quadrocopter video was really interesting, by far the best usage of Kinect that I've seen yet because in this scenario TOF cameras make perfect sense. Autonomous robots will really benefit from the fact that there is a "cheap" TOF device on the market now.

I found the other "hacks" to be funny to look at but not really very useful/practical, and some of them could be done with a simple webcam as well. I still haven't seen any Kinect hack that I think might become a popular use for average PC users.

just a note on the autonomous quadrocopter. It already uses a depth sensor. I think kinect was either cheaper or done as kind of a gag. Haven't found information on it, but they've been using depth and 3d cameras for several years now.

I really hope that the indie scene on XBL gets a hold of Kinect and starts making games for it; I think that we will see some novel ideas from that area.

By the way, I wonder why nobody has done a tool to create animated autostereograms (like the images in the "Magic Eye" books) with Kinect yet. That would be a perfect fit for Kinect's technology and I'm sure many Kinect owners would love to try that out.

Yeah man. It would make perfect sense. Depth cameras have been around for some time. But never have you been able to get one for 150 dollars. Due to its high end technology and low end entry price, Kinect is giving a lot of people the opportunity to screw around with a 3D sensor with little financial investment. I find it funny how a lot of these guys are buying a Kinect when they dont even own a 360.

are you sure on that? From their webpage product line it does not look like any come with a depth camera. This article also makes it seem like something new. Instead of controlling the copter by hand i believe the kinects allows it spot obstacles in its path (a predertimed route) so that it can avoid them. I could be wrong, just wondering if you may have more info on it as using kinect in conjustion with current robotics really intrigues me.

Article: http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2010-12/uc-berkeley-kinect-hack-guides-uav-quadrocopter

manufacturer: http://shop.quadrocopter.us/