Microsoft may found a market it never even planned for – the robotics industry. The Kinetic sensor by Microsoft is designed specifically for it’s gaming console, Xbox 360’s users. However, the researchers at the robotics department of different universities find it a cheap, viable alternative to other expensive motion-sensor equipment.
According to the students at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Laboratory, the regular equipment that is used to detect the motion of robots costs about $7000. In comparison, the Kinetic sensor by Microsoft is a mere $150 and the best part is that writing the code for kinetic sensor is easy. And it has been working quite well with a number of robots! So does Microsoft finally have another niche market for one of it’s products?
Apparently, yes. Microsoft has upped its efforts into further developing the kinetic sensors so that they may cater more fruitfully the robotics industry. The new developments on the kinetic sensors are being done while keeping the robotics in focus, which means we can expect Microsoft to emerge as the new, affordable and viable source of robotics’ components over the years.
Kinetic sensors have been mounted atop a number of robots performing many different activities – from making cookies to diving deep into oceans and mounting the sensor on robotics wheelchairs, kinetic sensors have found application in the arena of research on robotics. Researchers have also used the camera of kinetic sensors for location-mapping of certain regions in earthquake-related research. We can safely assume that there’s definite a revenue stream for Microsoft and a better alternative for robotics research in kinetic sensors.
Image courtesy Seattleclouds.com
