A use for kinect? Kinect weighs astronauts just by looking at them - Polidicks

[release] ASTRONAUTS will soon be able to stay fit thanks to a body tracking camera system built into Microsoft's Kinect gaming sensor, which helps calculate their weight in zero gravity. Even during missions that last just a few weeks spacefarers can lose up to 15 per cent of their body mass because their muscles atrophy due to lack of use. To prevent this physical decline, crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) typically spend 2 hours exercising per day. Monitoring weight in space is not easy, though, since traditional scales don't work in orbit. The problem was partially solved in 1965 by William Thornton, an American astronaut and doctor who came up with a way to measure objects using oscillating springs. Astronauts [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rt3udip7l4"]still use a similar device today[/URL], in which they have to mount a stool fitted with a spring that raises and lowers the stool at a frequency that depends on the mass it is acting against. The trouble is that this system is bulky and a lot of energy is required to power the moving stool, using up two of the space station's most limited resources. Now [URL="http://www.eurecom.fr/people/velardo.en.htm"]Carmelo Velardo[/URL], a computer scientist at Eurecom in Alpes-Maritimes, France, says his new system could simply be integrated into the station itself. "Something that you could easily put inside the walls of the space station would free up the space for other equipment or experiments," Velardo says. Along with colleagues at the Italian Institute of Technology's Center for Human Space Robotics in Torino, he used the Kinect's depth-sensing ability to create a 3D model of an astronaut. Then the team ran their calculation using a statistical model that links weight to body measurements based on a database of 28,000 people. Velardo's estimates are 97 per cent accurate, corresponding to an average error of just 2.7 kilograms, which is comparable to the current method used on board the ISS. "This technique appears feasible, although not without some effort," says John Charles, chief scientist on NASA's human research programme in Houston, Texas. He says that microgravity shifts water around inside astronauts' bodies, which means their density may not match the assumptions in the model. Charles adds that combining the idea with the existing weighing system might prove more beneficial, as the Kinect measures body volume while the stool measures mass. "The combination would provide insights into changes in body density that might be illuminating," Velardo agrees. The Kinect system has yet to be tested in space, due to the high cost of launching new equipment. But Velardo hopes to try it out soon aboard [URL="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20627551.300-wonder-lust-vomit-comet.html"]a parabolic aircraft flight[/URL] that simulates the microgravity found in orbit. He will present the research at the [URL="http://www.ieee-espa.org/"]Emerging Signal Processing Applications[/URL]conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, next month.[/release] [URL]http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21228443.700-kinect-weighs-astronauts-just-by-looking-at-them.html[/URL]

It's good for everything except for the things it was built specifically to do

I bet Microsoft never envisioned this amount of uses for the kinect.

The problem with the kinect is that if you wanted to get exercise, It would be better to go outside.

[QUOTE=BloodFox1222;33848367]The problem with the kinect is that if you wanted to get exercise, It would be better to go outside.[/QUOTE] Yeah going outside to exercise is a really good idea in space.

[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;33848484]Yeah going outside to exercise is a really good idea in space.[/QUOTE] Yeah, all that fresh air.

[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;33848484]Yeah going outside to exercise is a really good idea in space.[/QUOTE] Why would you use the kinect to exercise in space? And when did i say in space?

[QUOTE=BloodFox1222;33848527]Why would you use the kinect to exercise in space? And when did i say in space?[/QUOTE] This article is about the use of Kinect in space. You never said you [i]weren't[/i] talking about it.

[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;33848484]Yeah going outside to exercise is a really good idea in space.[/QUOTE] Bah, consider it high altitude training.

[QUOTE=ExplodingGuy;33848669]Bah, consider it high altitude training.[/QUOTE] You say the glass is half-full, I say the glass is half-empty. You say high altitude, I say low earth orbit.

[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;33848484]Yeah going outside to exercise is a really good idea in space.[/QUOTE] Holy fuck this is gold.

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;33848163] ASTRONAUTS will soon be able to stay fit thanks to a body tracking camera system built into Microsoft's Kinect gaming sensor, which helps calculate their weight in zero gravity.[/QUOTE] Your weight is always 0 in zero-gravity Sell the kinect, send me money instead

[QUOTE=Zeke129;33848715]Your weight is always 0 in zero-gravity Sell the kinect, send me money instead[/QUOTE] From New Scientist, no less shameful

[QUOTE=Ignhelper;33848163][release] ASTRONAUTS will soon be able to stay fit thanks to a body tracking camera system built into Microsoft's Kinect gaming sensor, which helps calculate their weight in zero gravity. [/QUOTE] To calculate their weight in 0 gravity? Knowing that weight is esentialy mass * gravity , I am failing to see how this can be usefull ...

its actualy calculating their mass

Why does it seem like no one knows the difference between mass and weight?

[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;33848976]Why does it seem like no one knows the difference between mass and weight?[/QUOTE] They're the same in non-SI (casual conversation) units for the most part until you enter a non-normal environment. People refer to them as the same thing outside of scientific circles. After all, one finds mass in grams by placing something on a balance, just like weight...

They're going to play Kinect Sports in space to stay fit also.

[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;33848484]Yeah going outside to exercise is a really good idea in space.[/QUOTE] Tell me, how do you even go about exercising in space when the size of a dumbbell doesn't even make any difference?

[QUOTE=Bat-shit;33849370]Tell me, how do you even go about exercising in space when the size of a dumbbell doesn't even make any difference?[/QUOTE] Use things like exercise bikes and other secured tools. I also imagine bouncing around through the ship/station gives good exercise but I wouldn't advise it.

Wow, i never thought about how people would measure their weight in space if they needed to.

[QUOTE=Bat-shit;33849370]Tell me, how do you even go about exercising in space when the size of a dumbbell doesn't even make any difference?[/QUOTE] Actually pushing a dumbbell around in space takes just as much force as on Earth...

[QUOTE=latin_geek;33849478]Wow, i never thought about how people would measure their weight in space if they needed to.[/QUOTE] That's the problem, most issues you see in space are obvious since we take so much for granted down here on Earth Like how NASA had to invent a special type of pen that could work in zero gravity back in the Space Race (The Soviets were much more practical, they just used pencils :v:)

[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;33849582]That's the problem, most issues you see in space are obvious since we take so much for granted down here on Earth Like how NASA had to invent a special type of pen that could work in zero gravity back in the Space Race (The Soviets were much more practical, they just used pencils :v:)[/QUOTE] I heard that was just a rumor though. I mean yeah we invented a pen that can write in space and all, but it didn't go down like the story said it did.

[QUOTE=CakeMaster7;33849582]That's the problem, most issues you see in space are obvious since we take so much for granted down here on Earth Like how NASA had to invent a special type of pen that could work in zero gravity back in the Space Race (The Soviets were much more practical, they just used pencils :v:)[/QUOTE] And the graphite dust from a pencil would fuck seriously with equipment I think that's a myth anyway

pretty cool, im sure the ps3 move cam can do the same

That's pretty awesome.

[QUOTE=garychencool;33851071]pretty cool, im sure the ps3 move cam can do the same[/QUOTE] Then I don't think you fully understand how the kinect works.

The kinect is seriously one of the most groundbreaking gadgets of all time... the applications and potential contained within that relatively cheap entertainment commodity is absolutely INCREDIBLE.

[QUOTE=Scotchair;33851350]The kinect is seriously one of the most groundbreaking gadgets of all time... the applications and potential contained within that relatively cheap entertainment commodity is absolutely INCREDIBLE.[/QUOTE] Biggest invention of the decade: Two cameras placed at the same distance eyes are placed apart on a plastic stick, and a shitton of software.