Xbox 360 was released in November 2010, since then it has become a sensation. The Xbox 360 is great for playing games. But it does more than that. If you’re one of those people who likes watching movies, listening to music, watching live TV, playing games with people all over the world, and doing it all with the sound of your voice, then the Xbox 360 with Kinect was built for you.

Kinect – Overview

When users combine Kinect with Xbox LIVE, they can kick back and enjoy shows on ESPN, HBO GO, Netflix and Hulu Plus in a whole new way. With Kinect, you can play, pause and rewind the action – all with the sound of your voice. It can also use body motion effectively to control operations.

Kinect and Senior Centers

Since Microsoft launched Kinect for Xbox 360, the controller-free device has been adopted and adapted for a growing number of non-gaming uses, many of them in the healthcare field.

Kinect can monitor movements, that’s what it does in games. So naturally, it would seem natural to use the technology to monitor movements outside of the gaming structure.

In one environment, Senior Centers, where the actions of seniors must be carefully watched, they have begun to use Kinect to measure and monitor subtle changes in the gait and movement of older people. Using technology to measure the way people walk more completely and daily, rather than at bi-yearly doctor’s appointments, can give healthcare professionals a chance to intervene sooner.

Kinect and Medical Patients

In an entirely different medical environment, doctors are using Kinect to help stroke patients regain movement. Surgeons are using it to access information without leaving the operating room and in the process sacrificing sterility. Elsewhere, healthcare workers are using Kinect to help with physical therapy and children with developmental disabilities or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Geology and Astronomy Research

Recently researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, City College of New York, and Dartmouth College began using Kinect better to understand many different sciences from glaciers to asteroids. Now they are using Kinect, which can process about 9 million data points per second and can see three to sixteen feet in distance to create illustrations of three-dimensional spaces and movement.

Given that the economy is in the tank, scientists are very aware of budget constraints. So if they want to continue to investigate different science areas, they need to keep their budgets in control. With Kinect, they can do that.

Before Kinect researchers worked with a technology called Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) for these types of experiments, which make renderings at a distance of miles rather than feet. Now at $120 for Kinect compared to $10,000 and $200,000 for a LIDAR device, scientists can take a device made for playing games at home to map tight spaces like a glacial cave or the trajectory of asteroid-like gravel in a zero-gravity environment. Scientists can continue their investigations, but can use Kinect to help give them accurate data at a fraction of the cost.

Source: Xbox

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