VoxCommando
Help and Support (Using VoxCommando) => VoxCommando Basics and Core Features => Topic started by: wannaspeed on December 07, 2016, 10:01:38 PM
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I was wondering if its possible to add additional commands when using the kinect sensor? Maybe simple gestures or mouse control. I have it setup and working well with the built in microphone, but i feel like there's some potential for more here.
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Have you tried this already?
http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=1477.msg15687#msg15687
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Have you tried this already?
http://voxcommando.com/forum/index.php?topic=1477.msg15687#msg15687
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I haven't checking into it now. Thanks! I guess I need to start subscribing to my threads so I know when people posted. I keep showing up late
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A couple years ago I experimented with gesture control for Kinect and it was really disappointing and did not seem to be worth the trouble.
The first problem I noticed was that my CPU took a major hit. With a quad-core I was seeing the Kinect gobble up at least 25% of total CPU, basically maxing out a single core. On an AMD processor this quickly led to increased noise from my CPU fan. Noise, heat, wasted electricity and a slower computer. These are not things I appreciate on my HTPC!
The next problem is that (when using official MS APIs) Kinect doesn't recognise your skeleton at all unless it can see your entire body without any obstructions in front of it. So we can forget about using it while sitting down, or even when standing behind a coffee table. We also need to be the right distance from the sensor. Not too close and not too far or it won't work. Having multiple people in the room further complicates things.
Even assuming you are alright with all of the above, you will find that gesture control is extremely awkward and much too inaccurate to use for something like mouse control without getting aggravated almost instantly.
While gesture control might be fun for for certain types of games where accuracy and timing don't really matter, the only reason I can think of why anyone would use gesture control instead of voice, or regular input methods like mice, keyboard, or remotes to control a PC or their home automation would be to get more exercise. I wouldn't recommend it for this purpose. Get a dog and walk it 3 times a day instead. You'll get a lot more benefit from that as opposed to contorting your body and ending up with a repetitive stress disorder.
In the end lots of this comes down to my personal opinion, but that's why I didn't spend a lot of my time developing an application to use it, and why you won't see gesture control integrated directly into VoxCommando.
Be warned that if you use a solution like Kinemote that uses non-standard APIs for gesture control then you will not be able to use the advanced audio features of Kinect like beam forming in VoxCommando, and in fact you may not be able to use it as a microphone at all. So if you are going to try anything, try to use something using the MS APIs.