Hack Turns Microsoft Kinect into DIY Automation
By Rachel Cericola
Video shows how a hack of Microsoft Kinect turns gaming console into automation system.

Most young people would be completely content using a Kinect to play video games. Not Mike. This 27-year-old decided that he needed to play the home automation game.

Mike is a bit secretive about his setup, only saying that it's a custom system that he's developing. "The media software is a simple HTPC front-end I hacked together years ago (with occasional tweaks since then) to run my home theater," Mike says on his YouTube page.



The system in the video below uses halogen light bulbs. Also, with the exception of the central controller with its software, Mike says that most of the components are commercially available. "I am writing software/firmware and selecting hardware for an embedded automation controller," he adds.

However, the most interesting thing about Mike's setup is that there isn't an Xbox 360 to be found anywhere. That said, he's not opposed to adding that in the future. ("I do have some ideas for how to make that work," he says.)

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