The Kinect sensor has been used in several creative ways but this is the first time it's been used for military purposes. South Korea has tweaked the Kinect tecnology to help the country guard the demilitarized zone (DMZ) against possible intrusions by its warring neighbor, North Korea.
South Korea started using the device in August 2013, although the information was only made public recently, to monitor for intruders coming in from its neighbor country.
Jae Kwan Ko, a self-taught programmer from Korea, has developed a system that enables the Kinect to track any movement in the DMZ.
"I've never even thought of a game system performing national defense tasks," said Jae in an interview with Hankooki, a South Korean publication, translated by the tech blog Kotaku..
The system designed by Jae can distinguish between humans or animals roaming or crossing the DMZ. It alerts the soldiers on duty when humans are detected. While not a ton of details were disclosed about the Kinect-based technology, Jae claims that the system will be upgraded in the future and will be able to sense body heat and detect heart beats as well.
The planned updates seem to indicate that the military will upgrade the system from Xbox 360 sensor to the Xbox One sensor. The latter is not yet available in South Korea. The Kinect 2.0 features a high definition wide-angle camera that can see clearly in the dark, read heart rates and even emotions.
The report did not disclose how many of these sensors were deployed or how heavily the system might have been modified but the world has seen how Kinect has evolved from just being a gaming device. In its latest ad, Microsoft even showcased the Kinect being used in the operating room to aid doctors in viewing x-rays without having to scrub out.
The DMZ is two kilometers long and was established after the Korean War. While it is an area where heavily armed troops are stationed, it is a popular destination for curious travelers.
