There were lots of great Kinect hacks this week, and some of them fall into the same category. Let’s do a double feature! This time on Hack of the Week we’ll be taking a look at what some innovative folks have done with Kinect and their smartphones.
Kinect + Android + projector = Angry Birds on the big screen
For one man, the 4.65″ screen of his Galaxy Nexus just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Instead of going out and buying a tablet, he decided to jump straight up to a larger form factor – his wall. After connecting his Nexus to a projector, he still needed a way to control the device. Enter Kinect. By crafting a custom ROM for his phone and connecting the entire thing up to a PC with a Kinect attached to it, he was able to use his hands to navigate the Android OS. The best part is, it actually looks like it works pretty well! It’s not portable, but it is pretty freaking sweet.
Windows phone combines with Kinect to produce 3D helicopter sim
Generally when you’re looking for the latest in holographic technology, you want a spaceship that won’t be invented for another 30 years or so. Well, one Kinect hacker has used the Beta SDK to build a “3D holograph” right in his living room! While the image is actually a 2D picture that reacts to where you’re standing, it also supports even better 3D simulation via 3D glasses. The image itself and the helicopter are both controlled by a Windows Phone 7, which uses the accelerometer to fly the chopper around the environment. Can you imagine seeing this sort of technology in games?
