Making Things See: 3D vision with Kinect, Processing, Arduino, and MakerBot

· "O'Reilly Media, Inc."
3.7
7 reviews
Ebook
440
Pages
Eligible
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

This detailed, hands-on guide provides the technical and conceptual information you need to build cool applications with Microsoft’s Kinect, the amazing motion-sensing device that enables computers to see. Through half a dozen meaty projects, you’ll learn how to create gestural interfaces for software, use motion capture for easy 3D character animation, 3D scanning for custom fabrication, and many other applications.

Perfect for hobbyists, makers, artists, and gamers, Making Things See shows you how to build every project with inexpensive off-the-shelf components, including the open source Processing programming language and the Arduino microcontroller. You’ll learn basic skills that will enable you to pursue your own creative applications with Kinect.

  • Create Kinect applications on Mac OS X, Windows, or Linux
  • Track people with pose detection and skeletonization, and use blob tracking to detect objects
  • Analyze and manipulate point clouds
  • Make models for design and fabrication, using 3D scanning technology
  • Use MakerBot, RepRap, or Shapeways to print 3D objects
  • Delve into motion tracking for animation and games
  • Build a simple robot arm that can imitate your arm movements
  • Discover how skilled artists have used Kinect to build fascinating projects

Ratings and reviews

3.7
7 reviews
A Google user
February 15, 2012
Great book. When I first learned how to use the Kinect sensor I was excited but couldn't figure out what projects to do with depth sensor information other than displaying the information visually as a point cloud. This book offers some really good insight on various methods for vision that have really opened up the capabilities of the Kinect. This information is online but it is often scattered and poorly written. This book does a good job of accumulating all the information on the Kinect for various OS and even shows how you can interface the Kinect with actual hardware, with Arduino of course. Anyone who wants insight on how to use the Kinect sensor in a nice succinct package should get this book.
Did you find this helpful?

About the author

After a decade as a musician, web programmer, and startup founder, Greg Borenstein recently moved to New York to become an artist and teacher. His work explores the use of special effects as an artistic medium. He is fascinated by how special effects techniques cross the boundary between images and the physical objects that make them: miniatures, motion capture, 3D animation, animatronics, and digital fabrication. He is currently a grad student at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.