- And here we thought it was just a failed video game controller.
Do you remember the Xbox Kinect? The motion capture device released in 2010 for the Xbox 360 game console, and a second-generation version came with the follow-up Xbox One machine.
The Kinect was part of the motion control craze that also spawned the Nintendo Wii. This thing was supposed to revolutionize playing video games by allowing people to use their entire bodies to control the action.
It didn’t do that.
While not an awful or all that strange game controller in itself, the Kinect didn’t become very popular. So, Microsoft buried it in 2017.
The Kinect is far from dead, though. It’s still used in many applications — some of which are so surprising that we doubt Microsoft engineers ever thought their motion control toy would ever see them.
Here are seven weird ways people are still using the Kinect.
1. Stroke Recovery
Recovering from a stroke can be a long and arduous process. Stroke patients may have to relearn their bodies’ basic motor functions, and handling real object may be next to impossible.
Seoul National University (actually in collaboration with Microsoft) has harnessed the Kinect the help stroke patients. The recovering users are given virtual tasks that they must complete by moving parts of their bodies.
The Kinect is basically perfect for this task. Its motion capture tech is pretty darn accurate and the device is very cheap, so stroke patients can easily improve their motor functions in their own homes.
2. CT Scans
Just last year, a story broke on social media about a person who went in for a CT scan. When he looked up at the CT machine’s camera, he saw a shining Xbox logo on the thing.
It was a Kinect.
Although the camera never made it as a gaming device, it is a seriously advanced piece of technology. It’s accurate enough that doctors have deemed it suitable for making medical-grade scans of patients’ bodies.
3. Airport Surveillance
The Newark Airport in New Jersey has put the Kinect to work as an airport surveillance device. Attached to long poles, Kinect devices monitor certain public areas of the airport.
We’re not exactly sure what the Kinects do. However, considering their motion capture tech, we assume they may look for specific movements or actions in the crowd that security staff consider suspicious.
This way, there wouldn’t necessarily need to be a person constantly watching monitors. Instead, the system could send an automated alert to security personnel if it notices anything shady going on.
4. Military Training
The Kinect has also found its way into the U.S. military. The Army, for instance, used the device in training soldiers.
A soldier should be prepared for any number of situations they may encounter in the field, but some of them can be hard to simulate. That is, unless you make the soldier go through them in virtual reality.
Thanks to VR tech and the Kinect, recruits can encounter any programmable situation and resolve them by behaving as they would in real life. Essentially, the Army is running what may be the world’s most advanced war games.
5. Ghost Hunting
People trying to prove that the paranormal exists are typically ready to use any tool that might conceivably help them do so. So, of course they’ve turned to the Kinect.
To be serious, though, the Kinect is actually very good for this purpose. As we’ve pointed out, it’s motion capture sensor is very sensitive and can work even in extremely low-light environments.
As such, it can be easily put to work to monitor a darkened room for ghastly activity. That said, poor lighting can cause false readings on the Kinect sensor — but to ghost hunters, that’s probably just proof of a place being haunted.
6. Porn
Alright, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, Kinect can be used for porn.
No, we’re giving you any links.
Considering what the Kinect is, it’s no wonder people have made porn games where you control the action with your body. That said, your partner on the screen still won’t be physical, so you’ll be humping thin air.
Unless, of course, you go for one of the more creative projects where they’re using the Kinect to remotely control physical sex toys. If you’re in a long-distance relationship, maybe check eBay for a cheap Kinect.
7. Guarding the Korean Border
Despite all the above examples, this may be the most bizarre use of the Kinect. The video game controller is helping to maintain peace at the Korean DMZ.
There are Kinect-based cameras observing the South Korea-North Korea border in multiple places for any unauthorized crossings. The system they’re hooked up to is smart enough to tell whether the thing going across the border is an animal or a human.
If it’s a human, alarm bells go off. And that’s all we know about the system because South Korea isn’t too keen on sharing further details.