We discussed earlier of the possibly of having a virtual environment complete with the immersible experience and object interactivity. While the earlier has been presented to us through the 3d Cave, the merge of both has remained a dream…until now. Combining a First Person perspective in the virtual environment as well as having the ability to interact with virtual objects, this Kinect hack seems to be the benchmark for aspiring virtual environment makers out there. With the Kinect capturing a user’s motion, a platform is created to allow users to simulate their actions in the 3d environment. What is more is that, with the feature to interact with objects within this virtual environment (in this case, a red ball), users will be more enthralled, giving the impression that they are indeed inside the program.
This video by Benjamin Blundell best shows the merge of virtual environment and interactive objects. The user can manipulate the avatar through their physical movements without the need to wear any sort of hardware. While the red ball is the only object that user can interactive with, this development shows that combining both of these Kinect  hacks can yield amazing results. Add a physics driver and furnish the animation and we may be seeing the beginning of “Matrix”.
For more information about the Kinect First Person Virtual Environment, visit the developer’s website.
