Hackers Turn Microsoft Kinect into Minority Report Device

It wasn't long before Microsoft's full-body controller Kinect was disassembled to see what services it could provide non-Xbox owners. And it was even a shorter length of time before the full motion detection was compared to Steven Spielberg's 2002 film Minority Report. In it, Tom Cruise cycles through images and footage of a mental vision using various hand, arm, and finger movements. The audience saw that it was just slightly better than using a mouse and keyboard -- if you disregarded how sore your muscles would be after a few minutes. But it certainly made for compelling cinema.

Soon after Kinect's launch, hackers were able to release the drivers for the camera sensor -- opening up the possibilities much like a hacked Wiimote. And near the top of that long agenda was Minority Report gesture-based controls for a desktop.



According to Dvice, it currently stands as a proof-of-concept. Rough around the edges with limited use, but the potential is certainly there. And if the sum of Kinect's parts total just $56, no matter what the success of the device, this could become a real game changer for other industries.