Google launched its Chromecast device in July and the $35 HDMI dongle has proven to be highly popular. Currently, the Google Play store lists a two to three week wait for shipments of the Chromecast, which was made to stream content such as YouTube, Netflix and more from a tablet or smartphone to a big screen TV.
Now a programmer has figured out a way to control Chromecast apps on a TV via the Kinect for Windows SDK. Leon Nicholls, who works as a software engineer in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, has posted his Chromecast-Kinect experiment on YouTube.
The clip shows a video app that"s being streamed to the TV via Chromecast, with Nicholls stating in the background that he has hooked up the Kinect sensor to a nearby laptop. He wrote a special program that interprets the sensor data from the Kinect, and after a few seconds that data can then be sent to the app running on the Chromecast.
The Kinect can be used to move the video on the screen, while pushing in with a hand can start or stop the video. Nicholls claims that he can use Kinect with his special program to control any video or app that"s streaming to the Chromecast, along with creating gestures that can handle more commands.
It"s unlikely that Google will release an official update for Chromecast that will allow for full Kinect support, but it"s always cool to see programmers who come up with new and interesting ways to use Microsoft"s motion gesture technology.
Source: YouTube