What would you do with a better Kinect?

[office politics]

There's other limitations as well. But the Kinect is prolly a very good device for its price point. I would look to use LIDAR if the client has a bigger budget. It seems robotic manufacturers and universities are using LIDAR for their research and studies.


Superconducting camera can snap 3D photos from 1,100 yards | ExtremeTech

quoted:
We might as well take this opportunity to point out that this system isn't the same as Kinect, which projects a pattern of infrared light and then uses a camera to see how your hand/body/etc distort that pattern — but it is very similar to Google's self-driving cars, which use a 64-beam LIDAR system to map their surroundings.


I Heart Robotics: Limitations of the Kinect

describes limitations with field of view, range, and environmental factors.

 

[PP Mguire]

To be fair, the Kinect is only meant to scan what is in front of a TV.

 

[office politics]

home automation seems to be getting more popular. use the kinect to scan or detect objects in a room.

http://blog.mikebourgeous.com/2011/03/08/home-automation-and-lighting-control-with-kin/