I was reluctant to add a Kinect to our media center. Mainly because it meant we needed to buy an XBox and become one of those two-console households. But that dang Dance Central game looked just too cool. So we got an XBox bundle. And I was right; Dance Central is really cool. But the coolest thing about the Kinect isn't what it does, but what it can do. Check out how one techie used it to create an effortless home automation system.

The Kinect has revolutionized gaming with it's depth-sensor technology. The Kinect sensor's cameras are able to find human forms in the room and detect the position of bodies, making your own body into the game's controller.

Taking the idea a step further, a brilliant hacker called Nitrogen routed his Kinect sensor bar to the corner-desk computer in his studio. Now it's able to "watch" him move about the room, switching specified lights on and off depending on his position:

Right now, it's not very practical. An idea like this could only be economical for someone in a studio, where the Kinect's limited range is able to keep an eye on the whole room. But we love seeing how the technology in our apartments today is helping to shape the future of home technology.

via Gizmodo

(Top image: Flickr member Antony Bennison licensed for use under Creative Commons)