Unless you live on a remote desert island, you are aware of the impact Microsoft’s Kinect has had on gaming. What you may not be aware of its ability to be a 3-D scanner with third-party apps.
The new possibilities comes from the Microsoft Kinect Fusion research project. It’s called Fusion because the technology fuses 3D data on top of the room mapping and gesture-aware sensors in the $150 Kinect device.
Simple 3-D mapping could open possibilities for homeowners to scan their rooms and send them to Interior Designers to make virtual changes. The technology is already available on Window 8 and its realistic price makes the future of new apps very promising.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzb_RQWrt6I?rel=0&w=480&h=360]
Microsoft is helping to encourage developers to create more apps by sponsoring a 13-week Kinect Accelerator program for young startups in partnership with Techstars this month.
While it may be a while before this hits the interior design community, engineers at companies like Toyota and Nissan are already using it to give consumers a virtual showroom and the ability to tour the inside of new concept cars.
Bloomingdale’s introduced special fitting rooms – called Pods – that can scan your body in 5 seconds and recommend a pair of flattering jeans. The Bodymetrics Pod may soon be a common site in department stores and a home version is sure to revolutionize online shopping.
Who in our industry do you think will use it first? Will a large company like Masco use it as a virtual cabinet display at a Show like KBIS instead of setting up actual vignettes? Would Kohler use it to give you a tour of their new Elevance BubbleMassage rising wall bathtub so you could experience its controls without getting wet? Maybe it will be Miele with an inside look at how a dishwasher cleans with the ability to zoom in and see how the water jets clean away food particles? Or maybe it will be Hafele with an interactive automated lighting and opening system in a Kitchen vignette? I guess only time will tell.
