Microsoft researchers have created MIX11 -- A “mobile armchair”, which uses Microsoft's kinect
, motion gaming peripheral.During a demonstration, of which CrunchGear is a witness, a Microsoft researcher is seen waving his hands--attached to nothing--to make the prototype "KinectChair" move (a Kinect sensor mounted atop a forward vertical pylon reads every gesture of the researcher seated in a La-z-Boy
).The chair, is seen moving forward or backward, turn with omnidirectional wheels, and even recline on motion commands.
The reason why Microsoft researchers are indulging in this fun, is the company's soon-to-be-released Kinect PC SDK, a software toolkit designed to give would-be motion control hackers an officially supported path to controller-free inventing.
KinectChair which is assembled using the same kit, is probably a PR exercise, where by Microsoft wants to show the hackers what useful can be created using Kinect. Sarcasm apart, if one imagines the practical uses of the Kinectchair, then one can see the prototype being used to create all sorts of serious medical applications--like motion-controlled stair-lifts, or wheelchairs that respond to twists of person's head. --------
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