Korean Border Guarded By Kinect-powered Surveillance System

The Kinect has been used in a lot of different ways, but its main purpose is and always was Gaming. Although, the Kinect sensor has been used in other non-game related experiments as well, which include turning a bath tub into a giant touch-screen gadget as well as aiding the well-known VR headset gear, the Oculus Rift.

But South Korea apparently found a more interesting and practical method of using the Kinect sensor. Programmer Jae Kwan Ko explains to The Verge that he found a way to ‘harness’ its features and turn it into an ultimate border patrol gadget. Since South Korea and North Korea don’t see eye to eye and tensions at the border run high most of the time, Ko apparently developed an easier way to keep an eye on what’s going on near the border perimeter.

He reportedly developed a hardware as well as software system which uses the Kinect to detect moving objects. It was delivered to the US Army in August and since the, instilled in the Demilitarized Zones on the border perimeter, watching and analysing each and every moving object. It is said that the system can even detect whether a moving object is human or an animal, as well as having the capacity to trigger alerts at the army base if it detects human movement.

One can ask why Kinect and not something more high-tech. Well, there might be two reasons here. First and most important is that Ko has been creating and even specializes in windows application for Windows Phone, Windows 8 and Kinect. This is the most important key factor. Another good reason, in my opinion, might be the price. High-tech non mass-produced gadgets will always cost a whole lot more than something which is already available on the market. Combining brains with creativity results in great things being achieved, and this one could be one of them.

Thank you The Verge for providing us with this information
Image courtesy of The Verge