Xbox Kinect Interactive Puppet Prototype, from Theo Watson and Emily Gobeille (design.io) & Update on Funky Forest

I came across the following video on a post on the  Creative Applications blog about the Theo Watson and Emily Gobeille's  recent work with OpenFrameworks, Kinect, and an interactive puppet prototoype:

Interactive Puppet Prototype with Xbox Kinect from Theo Watson on Vimeo.

I'm not surprised that Theo Watson and Emily (design.io) decided to experiment with the XBox Kinect. I can't wait to see what they will create for Kinect in the future, based on their previous work --   A couple of years ago I wrote a post about their enchanting interactive installation, "Funky Forest":  OpenFrameworks & Interactive Multimedia:  Funky Forest Installation for CinKid. 


You can see from the video of their Funky Forest installation (2007 CinKid) that they create engaging interactive applications:

Funky Forest - Interactive Ecosystem from Theo Watson on Vimeo.
(Information from Theo Watson's Vimeo site)
"Funky Forest is a wild and crazy ecosystem where children manage the resources to influence the environment around them. By using their bodies or pillow "rocks" and "logs", water flowing from the digital stream on the floor can be dammed and diverted to the forest to make different parts grow. If a tree does not receive enough water it withers away but by pressing their bodies into the forest children create new trees based on their shape and character. As children explore and play they discover that the environment is inhabited by a variety of sonic life forms and creatures who appear and disappear depending on the health of the forest. As the seasons change the creatures also go through a metamorphosis."
Credits:
Theodore Watson
Emily Gobeille
Project Page:
muonics.net/​site_docs/​work.php?id=41
zanyparade.com/​v8/​projects.php?id=12


Note:  A version of Funky Forest, Moomah Edition, is permanently installed in New York City at the Moomah Children's Cafe. This version includes interactive environments related to the four seasons of the year, including an interactive particle system with falling leaves and snow.


FOR THE TECH-CURIOUS
Libfreenect for OX, by Theodore Watson

XBox Kinect running on OS X ( with source code ) from Theo Watson on Vimeo.
The following information and links were taken from the Vimeo description of the above video:  
"This is a port/adaptation of Hector Martin's libfreenect for OS X made by Theodore Watson.
Hector Martin's Libfreenect project page is here:  git.marcansoft.com/​?p=libfreenect.git
Most of the code is unchanged but there are some changes to libusb which was needed to get it running (and a few extra libusb commands) as well as some tweaking of the transfer sizes.
It should be self contained and you shouldn't need to install libusb (the app links it directly ).
Grab the Source Code:
UPDATE:
(Tested on OS X 10.6.3 - 32bit now and with fixes)
theo.tw/​deliver/​kinect/​001-libfreenect-modded-osx-updated.zip
ofxKinect for OF users - thanks Dan!
openframeworks.cc/​forum/​viewtopic.php?p=24948#p24948
Tips:
- Try both usb ports.
- Try not to have too many other devices plugged in (or any)."


(Check the Vimeo website to see if there are updates)


OpenFrameworks Forum
http://www.openframeworks.cc/forum/


RELATED
Presentation about Funky Forest  (ThisHappened)

Emily Gobeille & Theo Watson talk about Funky Forest from This happened – Utrecht on Vimeo.


Cross-posted on the TechPsych blog.