Hi everyone id like to start a topic, as I think a few of you might be interested in using the Microsoft Kinect in your own projects, I just picked on up today and installed it, now im trying it out on RoboRealm, it does have some pretty cool features like the 640x480 depth map in real time (30 fps), a traditional 640x480 RGB image, a 3 axis accelerometer, the ability to tilt its head and a nifty LED that you can change the colors on, It also has a sound sensor though it seems RoboRealm has not got support for it yet Ive tried all this and it works very well, a caution to all that this sensor is a processor hog and the same for power at least 1.5amps to run it as it is essentially a IR projector, It takes 12volts in witch is nice as my newest project Alfred the butler bot will be using a 12volt battery pack, check out that project here lynxmotion.net/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7051 info on the RoboRealm module for the kinect can be found here roborealm.com/help/Microsoft_Kinect.php
I have yet to incorporate the sensor into the robot but im making this thread as I plan to soon and i will make the RoboRealm files available to you guys
It uses a standard usb port and it has a split off to the power plug that supply the 12v at about a 1.08A, this link contains all the drivers you need to set it up and its very easy to do roborealm.com/help/Microsoft_Kinect.php
When microsoft released the kinect I thought about it possibly being applied to robotics but figured it would use to much power to fit on a hobby robotics platform. I’m excited to see how this turns out, and I might even try this if it seems simple enough. I wish you success and will follow your thread.
I requested some information about the kinect drivers and using it for obstacle avoidance and I got this response back, As at the moment the kinect bogs up the pipeline very well and is unusable (less then 14fps) unless you are offloading it to a very powerful PC, I would like to see it ran with a decent dual core, core 2 that is running my current project.
I’m very excited to try these new more eff. drivers until then the kinect is shelved. I will continue to post on this blog if I find out these new drivers are available.
I’m interested in talking to other folks who are using or plan to use the Microsoft Kinect sensor. I plan to build a low-cost ($1000 or so) personal robot using the Kinect for vision and the Lynxmotion AL5D as the arm. I realize it is a lengthy project so I’m doing it in stages.
Earlier this year I have experimented with the Kinect, how to create 3D pointclouds and detect objects(still rough). More recently I finished assembling the AL5D arm which I modified to be able to reach forward up to 20 inches; the arm is long enough to easily reach the corners of a 15x15" chess/checkers board. I wrote a Python program with Inverse Kinematics to control the arm. Hoping to finish off some arm calibration stuff soon, then use the Kinect to detect a human opponent’s chess moves and visually guide the arm to grasp the pieces. More info:
Thanks. Yeah, I placed the wrist rotate motor on top so the arm can potentially squeeze into tight vertical gaps without the large gear getting in the way. Have yet to see how will it works in practice… The forearm tube is 8" long.
