Kinect hacked to work with Mac

Kinect hacked to work with Mac
Developer Theo Watson has adapted an existing open-source library to the Mac, allowing Microsoft's Kinect motion-detector IR and webcam add-on for the XBox to work with OS X. His Vimeo-hosted video shows the project to be very much a "work in progress," but opens interesting possibilities for future Mac software and games that could leverage the Kinect connectivity.


Watson took the source code for Hector Martin's libfreenect and adapted it for Snow Leopard (tested on 10.6.3, may work with other versions), adding and modifying some libusb commands and tweaking transfer rates. The Kinect combines a traditional webcam with an infrared spotlight to better distinguish humans and movement from inanimate objects. In Watson's software, both the "convention" and "IR" views are shown side-by-side.


Kinect, Microsoft's motion gaming accessory has been hacked, mere days after its release.


Less than a week ago, DIY vendor Adafruit set a challenge, dubbed the Open Kinect challenge, which offered a $2,000 reward to whoever could hack the Kinect as desired. Adafruit detailed that the group or individual that created an open-source driver for the new accessory would be granted the prize money.


With the money on the table, hackers got to work, much to Microsoft's dismay, and in no time at all a hack surfaced.