According to recent reports, the new Microsoft Kinect motion-sensing controller is very easy to hack. However – and somewhat surprisingly – it seems Microsoft intentionally made Kinect open source and welcome any new hacks that expand the ability of their cool new technology.Kinect has only been released for a couple of weeks now, and it has already been repurposed to run a variety of experimental applications. As is often the case, the geeks got down to the most important business first, with a Star Wars-style light sabre simulator being one of the first reported hacks.
The response to these hacks by Microsoft is likely to be a big surprise for open-source geeks who thought Microsoft were the Antichrist, as they are not only tolerant of these hacks but are going a big step further by claiming they designed the Kinect to be open-source from the start. Wow.
In news from Ars Technica, Microsoft’s Alex Kipman recently told NPR: “What has happened is someone wrote an open-source driver for PCs that essentially opens the USB connection, which we didn’t protect by design, and reads the inputs from the sensor,” adding “The sensor … has eyes and ears, and that’s a whole bunch of, you know, noise that someone needs to take and turn into signal.”
This attitude is very refreshing from a big tech company and is lightyears away from the controlling approach of Apple and other major manufacturers. While unintended by manufacturers, the hacking of the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP gaming systems are a couple of recent examples of just how valuable – and fun – an open system can be.
Kinect is receiving rave reviews all around the world, and the open source nature of the USB connection makes this device even cooler and more desirable. Only time will tell what new applications await, but I bet there are people out there already working on music controllers, DIY games, art project interfaces, and much more.
While I never thought I would be saying this to Microsoft – Thank You.
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