Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?)
Eric, Just checking in to see if any progress was made on either of these projects. -Greg On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 7:38 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: While it goes against the seemingly common practices of indie game dev, I really don’t want to spill the beans on it until I get a little closer to alpha. I just can’t bring myself to talk it up while it’s still essentially vaporware ;) ** ** *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Marc-Andre Carbonneau *Sent:* Thursday, August 23, 2012 10:31 AM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* RE: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) ** ** Allright now you got us curious about your game. What is it. ;) ** ** *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [ mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.comsoftimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Eric Cosky *Sent:* Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:13 PM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* RE: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) ** ** I apologize for not communicating this earlier, but I was very close to committing to this project but after much thought and discussion I decided I need to stay focused on finishing up the game I am working on right now. The game has been over a year in the works and despite the appeal of turning the mocap connector into a proper product, I really can't let myself switch gears right now - I just have too much invested in the game and I need to get it done. I won’t release the mocap connector unless I can take the time finish it up properly and provide the necessary support for both the project itself and the people who would be using it, and I just can't do that right now. Hopefully I can revisit this project in the future because it isn’t really that far from where it needs to be, but I just can’t afford the time right now. I simply *must* to get this game done ASAP, really don’t have any choice in the matter. Sorry! I’ll review the state of similar products when my workload will afford it, and if it looks like it still makes sense to do I’ll bring it up again and see if anyone is still interested. Thanks, **
Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?)
Has this launched yet? Every time I go there it only states draft On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 9:19 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Yes, that’s normal. I already wrote up the campaign page, but until IndieGoGo validates the bank information it will show as “draft” mode to other people. The validation process requires PayPal to validate my business info, which takes a few days. The YouTube links are unlisted at the moment, so in theory people should only see them when reading this thread. I’m guessing it will be visible on Wednesday. ** ** Thanks, -Eric Cosky ** ** ** ** *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim *Sent:* Saturday, July 28, 2012 3:09 AM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) ** ** I got this message The page you are looking for is currently in DRAFT mode and hidden from the public. Please contact the campaign owner if you feel this is in error! when tried to access the page. Is that normal? Cheers, On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 7:07 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Thanks for the suggestion; I've set up an Indigogo campaign but it won't be visible until the bank stuff is validated next week. I'm calling it Mocap Connector. In the meantime here are some videos for anyone interested. Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMjUhj8VSGg Kinect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxd90LLULds Xbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRE1da89zw I wish I had decent video gear and a radio voice, but I think the videos serve their purpose well enough. Happy Friday, Eric Cosky -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alan Fregtman Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:42 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? May I suggest http://indiegogo.com/ over kickstarter? Kickstarter is pretty much US-only. Indiegogo is the same deal, works in USD, but it accepts most/all countries, such as Canada (where I'm at.) On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Ed Manning etmth...@gmail.com wrote: One for me, please! On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:04 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, thanks for the responses. Here’s a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didn’t make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show me leaning down to hit the keyboard. You see the driver window with some of the driver inputs mapped to a custom parameter set, and the custom parameter set controls updating in real time while I move around. What isn’t shown is the companion app which shows the video stream and skeleton as provided by the Kinect SDK. If it turns out that I get time add features I’d like to add support for face tracking; the Kinect API makes this look pretty doable. Another thing I could see adding is a simple plug-in API to allow people (probably just me) to make DLLs that would process the skeleton data prior to sending it to Softimage. While I don’t personally have the need, the system could be extended to send data to Softimage running on another PC or even multiple skeleton streams from multiple Kinects. There really are a lot of interesting ways this tool could evolve if there were enough people to support the effort. Regarding the Xbox controller, as a gamer/gamedev I find the xbox controller an ideal input device for two hand control of all kinds of things. The main thing I like about this setup is that the driver channel names map to the controller, no generalized joystick labels that I have to remember what is what (== what axis is the left trigger?) and it uses positional data so there is no need to set up a proxy to accumulate data like with the Mojoke driver. Another nice feature is that it supports 4 controllers for collaborative control of a rig. The xbox controllers are fairly inexpensive and I use a “Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows” which allows me to repurpose by xbox controllers if/when I need more inputs. Here is a short video of a character (please forgive the crude model) being manipulated by a single controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJ7mAvLC4w. There are a few bones in the neck/jaw hooked up to the parameter set which is being controlled by the two thumb sticks and triggers. With Softimage there is of course any number of ways to process data, and I am still learning what kind of setup is the best workflow for me but at the moment I think the easiest way to go is to
RE: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?)
I apologize for not communicating this earlier, but I was very close to committing to this project but after much thought and discussion I decided I need to stay focused on finishing up the game I am working on right now. The game has been over a year in the works and despite the appeal of turning the mocap connector into a proper product, I really can't let myself switch gears right now - I just have too much invested in the game and I need to get it done. I wont release the mocap connector unless I can take the time finish it up properly and provide the necessary support for both the project itself and the people who would be using it, and I just can't do that right now. Hopefully I can revisit this project in the future because it isnt really that far from where it needs to be, but I just cant afford the time right now. I simply must to get this game done ASAP, really dont have any choice in the matter. Sorry! Ill review the state of similar products when my workload will afford it, and if it looks like it still makes sense to do Ill bring it up again and see if anyone is still interested. Thanks, From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Eric Turman Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 8:48 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) Has this launched yet? Every time I go there it only states draft On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 9:19 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Yes, thats normal. I already wrote up the campaign page, but until IndieGoGo validates the bank information it will show as draft mode to other people. The validation process requires PayPal to validate my business info, which takes a few days. The YouTube links are unlisted at the moment, so in theory people should only see them when reading this thread. Im guessing it will be visible on Wednesday. Thanks, -Eric Cosky From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2012 3:09 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) I got this message The page you are looking for is currently in DRAFT mode and hidden from the public. Please contact the campaign owner if you feel this is in error! when tried to access the page. Is that normal? Cheers, On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 7:07 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Thanks for the suggestion; I've set up an Indigogo campaign but it won't be visible until the bank stuff is validated next week. I'm calling it Mocap Connector. In the meantime here are some videos for anyone interested. Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMjUhj8VSGg Kinect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxd90LLULds Xbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRE1da89zw I wish I had decent video gear and a radio voice, but I think the videos serve their purpose well enough. Happy Friday, Eric Cosky -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alan Fregtman Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:42 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? May I suggest http://indiegogo.com/ over kickstarter? Kickstarter is pretty much US-only. Indiegogo is the same deal, works in USD, but it accepts most/all countries, such as Canada (where I'm at.) On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Ed Manning etmth...@gmail.com wrote: One for me, please! On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:04 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, thanks for the responses. Heres a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didnt make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show me leaning down to hit the keyboard. You see the driver window with some of the driver inputs mapped to a custom parameter set, and the custom parameter set controls updating in real time while I move around. What isnt shown is the companion app which shows the video stream and skeleton as provided by the Kinect SDK. If it turns out that I get time add features Id like to add support for face tracking; the Kinect API makes this look pretty doable. Another thing I could see adding is a simple plug-in API to allow people (probably just me) to make DLLs that would process the skeleton data prior to sending it to Softimage. While I dont personally have the need, the system could be extended to send data to Softimage running on another PC or even multiple skeleton streams from multiple Kinects. There really are a lot of interesting ways this tool could
RE: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?)
Allright now you got us curious about your game. What is it. ;) From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Eric Cosky Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 12:13 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: RE: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) I apologize for not communicating this earlier, but I was very close to committing to this project but after much thought and discussion I decided I need to stay focused on finishing up the game I am working on right now. The game has been over a year in the works and despite the appeal of turning the mocap connector into a proper product, I really can't let myself switch gears right now - I just have too much invested in the game and I need to get it done. I won't release the mocap connector unless I can take the time finish it up properly and provide the necessary support for both the project itself and the people who would be using it, and I just can't do that right now. Hopefully I can revisit this project in the future because it isn't really that far from where it needs to be, but I just can't afford the time right now. I simply must to get this game done ASAP, really don't have any choice in the matter. Sorry! I'll review the state of similar products when my workload will afford it, and if it looks like it still makes sense to do I'll bring it up again and see if anyone is still interested. Thanks, From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com]mailto:[mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Eric Turman Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2012 8:48 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) Has this launched yet? Every time I go there it only states draft On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 9:19 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.commailto:e...@cosky.com wrote: Yes, that's normal. I already wrote up the campaign page, but until IndieGoGo validates the bank information it will show as draft mode to other people. The validation process requires PayPal to validate my business info, which takes a few days. The YouTube links are unlisted at the moment, so in theory people should only see them when reading this thread. I'm guessing it will be visible on Wednesday. Thanks, -Eric Cosky From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2012 3:09 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) I got this message The page you are looking for is currently in DRAFT mode and hidden from the public. Please contact the campaign owner if you feel this is in error! when tried to access the page. Is that normal? Cheers, On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 7:07 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.commailto:e...@cosky.com wrote: Thanks for the suggestion; I've set up an Indigogo campaign but it won't be visible until the bank stuff is validated next week. I'm calling it Mocap Connector. In the meantime here are some videos for anyone interested. Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMjUhj8VSGg Kinect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxd90LLULds Xbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRE1da89zw I wish I had decent video gear and a radio voice, but I think the videos serve their purpose well enough. Happy Friday, Eric Cosky -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alan Fregtman Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:42 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.commailto:softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? May I suggest http://indiegogo.com/ over kickstarter? Kickstarter is pretty much US-only. Indiegogo is the same deal, works in USD, but it accepts most/all countries, such as Canada (where I'm at.) On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Ed Manning etmth...@gmail.commailto:etmth...@gmail.com wrote: One for me, please! On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:04 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.commailto:e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, thanks for the responses. Here's a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didn't make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show
RE: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?)
Yes, thats normal. I already wrote up the campaign page, but until IndieGoGo validates the bank information it will show as draft mode to other people. The validation process requires PayPal to validate my business info, which takes a few days. The YouTube links are unlisted at the moment, so in theory people should only see them when reading this thread. Im guessing it will be visible on Wednesday. Thanks, -Eric Cosky From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim Sent: Saturday, July 28, 2012 3:09 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?) I got this message The page you are looking for is currently in DRAFT mode and hidden from the public. Please contact the campaign owner if you feel this is in error! when tried to access the page. Is that normal? Cheers, On Sat, Jul 28, 2012 at 7:07 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Thanks for the suggestion; I've set up an Indigogo campaign but it won't be visible until the bank stuff is validated next week. I'm calling it Mocap Connector. In the meantime here are some videos for anyone interested. Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMjUhj8VSGg Kinect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxd90LLULds Xbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRE1da89zw I wish I had decent video gear and a radio voice, but I think the videos serve their purpose well enough. Happy Friday, Eric Cosky -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alan Fregtman Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:42 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? May I suggest http://indiegogo.com/ over kickstarter? Kickstarter is pretty much US-only. Indiegogo is the same deal, works in USD, but it accepts most/all countries, such as Canada (where I'm at.) On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Ed Manning etmth...@gmail.com wrote: One for me, please! On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:04 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, thanks for the responses. Heres a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didnt make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show me leaning down to hit the keyboard. You see the driver window with some of the driver inputs mapped to a custom parameter set, and the custom parameter set controls updating in real time while I move around. What isnt shown is the companion app which shows the video stream and skeleton as provided by the Kinect SDK. If it turns out that I get time add features Id like to add support for face tracking; the Kinect API makes this look pretty doable. Another thing I could see adding is a simple plug-in API to allow people (probably just me) to make DLLs that would process the skeleton data prior to sending it to Softimage. While I dont personally have the need, the system could be extended to send data to Softimage running on another PC or even multiple skeleton streams from multiple Kinects. There really are a lot of interesting ways this tool could evolve if there were enough people to support the effort. Regarding the Xbox controller, as a gamer/gamedev I find the xbox controller an ideal input device for two hand control of all kinds of things. The main thing I like about this setup is that the driver channel names map to the controller, no generalized joystick labels that I have to remember what is what (== what axis is the left trigger?) and it uses positional data so there is no need to set up a proxy to accumulate data like with the Mojoke driver. Another nice feature is that it supports 4 controllers for collaborative control of a rig. The xbox controllers are fairly inexpensive and I use a Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows which allows me to repurpose by xbox controllers if/when I need more inputs. Here is a short video of a character (please forgive the crude model) being manipulated by a single controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJ7mAvLC4w. There are a few bones in the neck/jaw hooked up to the parameter set which is being controlled by the two thumb sticks and triggers. With Softimage there is of course any number of ways to process data, and I am still learning what kind of setup is the best workflow for me but at the moment I think the easiest way to go is to use the load preset command for the driver (the folder icon in the toolbar) to point the targets at different custom parameter sets, which are then referenced by expressions on deformers in the model being animated. This has allowed me to switch what I am recording motion for
Mocap Connector (was: RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?)
Thanks for the suggestion; I've set up an Indigogo campaign but it won't be visible until the bank stuff is validated next week. I'm calling it Mocap Connector. In the meantime here are some videos for anyone interested. Intro: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMjUhj8VSGg Kinect: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jxd90LLULds Xbox: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVRE1da89zw I wish I had decent video gear and a radio voice, but I think the videos serve their purpose well enough. Happy Friday, Eric Cosky -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alan Fregtman Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:42 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? May I suggest http://indiegogo.com/ over kickstarter? Kickstarter is pretty much US-only. Indiegogo is the same deal, works in USD, but it accepts most/all countries, such as Canada (where I'm at.) On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Ed Manning etmth...@gmail.com wrote: One for me, please! On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:04 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, thanks for the responses. Heres a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didnt make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show me leaning down to hit the keyboard. You see the driver window with some of the driver inputs mapped to a custom parameter set, and the custom parameter set controls updating in real time while I move around. What isnt shown is the companion app which shows the video stream and skeleton as provided by the Kinect SDK. If it turns out that I get time add features Id like to add support for face tracking; the Kinect API makes this look pretty doable. Another thing I could see adding is a simple plug-in API to allow people (probably just me) to make DLLs that would process the skeleton data prior to sending it to Softimage. While I dont personally have the need, the system could be extended to send data to Softimage running on another PC or even multiple skeleton streams from multiple Kinects. There really are a lot of interesting ways this tool could evolve if there were enough people to support the effort. Regarding the Xbox controller, as a gamer/gamedev I find the xbox controller an ideal input device for two hand control of all kinds of things. The main thing I like about this setup is that the driver channel names map to the controller, no generalized joystick labels that I have to remember what is what (== what axis is the left trigger?) and it uses positional data so there is no need to set up a proxy to accumulate data like with the Mojoke driver. Another nice feature is that it supports 4 controllers for collaborative control of a rig. The xbox controllers are fairly inexpensive and I use a Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows which allows me to repurpose by xbox controllers if/when I need more inputs. Here is a short video of a character (please forgive the crude model) being manipulated by a single controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJ7mAvLC4w. There are a few bones in the neck/jaw hooked up to the parameter set which is being controlled by the two thumb sticks and triggers. With Softimage there is of course any number of ways to process data, and I am still learning what kind of setup is the best workflow for me but at the moment I think the easiest way to go is to use the load preset command for the driver (the folder icon in the toolbar) to point the targets at different custom parameter sets, which are then referenced by expressions on deformers in the model being animated. This has allowed me to switch what I am recording motion for within a scene pretty easily. An alternative is a synoptic with scripts to load specific presets. As an aside, I did a rough experiment with making custom ICE nodes to read device data (essentially ICE input devices) and I might have been doing something wrong but I found that it was less responsive than drivers expressions. I also didnt care for the need to run the scene to see the inputs change; I think perhaps this is because the drivers use a push model whereas ICE uses a pull model for how data is propagated. Also, the need for quite a few nodes to just do a simple make the right trigger rotate something led me away from using ICE nodes as the source of input data. If necessary or useful I can always make ICE trees get data from the custom parameter set data targeted by the driver. Currently the companion software is written in .NET for Windows. Its not a terribly complicated app, but it does use the Kinect SDK and XAML which means it would take a complete rewrite to get
RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
Thanks, good to know. I think I probably will do one of these crowd funding things because as much as I'd like to work on this some more (it's pretty fun) I have to convince someone else it's something enough people would want before I can do that. Not enough time in the day for all the stuff I'd like to do thats for sure! -Original Message- From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of Alan Fregtman Sent: Thursday, July 26, 2012 7:42 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? May I suggest http://indiegogo.com/ over kickstarter? Kickstarter is pretty much US-only. Indiegogo is the same deal, works in USD, but it accepts most/all countries, such as Canada (where I'm at.) On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Ed Manning etmth...@gmail.com wrote: One for me, please! On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:04 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, thanks for the responses. Heres a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didnt make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show me leaning down to hit the keyboard. You see the driver window with some of the driver inputs mapped to a custom parameter set, and the custom parameter set controls updating in real time while I move around. What isnt shown is the companion app which shows the video stream and skeleton as provided by the Kinect SDK. If it turns out that I get time add features Id like to add support for face tracking; the Kinect API makes this look pretty doable. Another thing I could see adding is a simple plug-in API to allow people (probably just me) to make DLLs that would process the skeleton data prior to sending it to Softimage. While I dont personally have the need, the system could be extended to send data to Softimage running on another PC or even multiple skeleton streams from multiple Kinects. There really are a lot of interesting ways this tool could evolve if there were enough people to support the effort. Regarding the Xbox controller, as a gamer/gamedev I find the xbox controller an ideal input device for two hand control of all kinds of things. The main thing I like about this setup is that the driver channel names map to the controller, no generalized joystick labels that I have to remember what is what (== what axis is the left trigger?) and it uses positional data so there is no need to set up a proxy to accumulate data like with the Mojoke driver. Another nice feature is that it supports 4 controllers for collaborative control of a rig. The xbox controllers are fairly inexpensive and I use a Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows which allows me to repurpose by xbox controllers if/when I need more inputs. Here is a short video of a character (please forgive the crude model) being manipulated by a single controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJ7mAvLC4w. There are a few bones in the neck/jaw hooked up to the parameter set which is being controlled by the two thumb sticks and triggers. With Softimage there is of course any number of ways to process data, and I am still learning what kind of setup is the best workflow for me but at the moment I think the easiest way to go is to use the load preset command for the driver (the folder icon in the toolbar) to point the targets at different custom parameter sets, which are then referenced by expressions on deformers in the model being animated. This has allowed me to switch what I am recording motion for within a scene pretty easily. An alternative is a synoptic with scripts to load specific presets. As an aside, I did a rough experiment with making custom ICE nodes to read device data (essentially ICE input devices) and I might have been doing something wrong but I found that it was less responsive than drivers expressions. I also didnt care for the need to run the scene to see the inputs change; I think perhaps this is because the drivers use a push model whereas ICE uses a pull model for how data is propagated. Also, the need for quite a few nodes to just do a simple make the right trigger rotate something led me away from using ICE nodes as the source of input data. If necessary or useful I can always make ICE trees get data from the custom parameter set data targeted by the driver. Currently the companion software is written in .NET for Windows. Its not a terribly complicated app, but it does use the Kinect SDK and XAML which means it would take a complete rewrite to get something on Linux. The driver itself is fairly portable but does use a few Win32 APIs to communicate with the companion app. While I have adequate Linux dev experience, I dont
RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
Set up a kickstarter possibly? From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of activemotionpictu...@yahoo.com Sent: Sunday, July 22, 2012 9:40 PM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? Yes please. Oh so much, this will be so helpful to drive things like puppeteering!! A dream come true! Conectado por DROID en Verizon Wireless -Mensaje original- De: Halim Negadi hneg...@gmail.com Para: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Enviado: dom, jul 22, 2012 18:41:25 GMT+00:00 Asunto: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? Highly interested as well ! On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 6:28 PM, Gmail arma...@gmail.commailto:arma...@gmail.com wrote: I'm also interested. On Jul 22, 2012, at 10:21 AM, michael johansson mich...@lowend.semailto:mich...@lowend.se wrote: I would be interested. /michael Johanson 2012/7/22 Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim faizol@gmail.commailto:faizol@gmail.com: I'm interested in what you're offering at that price point, but it would much more helpful if we can have more information about it (like a blog or something detailing the tools you're promoting, some how tos etc). Having said that, there's an article on phoronix.comhttp://phoronix.com about using kinect devices with Qt toolkit on Linux (Maemo); http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_itempx=MTEyODY The Qt Air Cursor is LGPL licensed and built atop the OpenNI library and OpenCV. Code for Qt Air Cursor can be found here; https://github.com/nemein/Qt_AirCursor I imagine that if you can develop that using Qt toolkit, it would be cross platform and can be maintained using just a single source, if done properly. Cheers, Faizol On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 5:10 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.commailto:e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, #1, I recently wrote an application that captures bone data from a Kinect for Windows devices (Important: this is not the XBox Kinect) and sends it to a device driver running in Softimage. It is a functional solution for getting the raw skeletal motion data into Softimage using the device driver interface. I know there is already an ICE-based Kinect solution out there, but this takes a different approach by using a device driver which I find a little more to my liking. I can observe values in a custom parameter set and pull the values from there to do whatever I need with them such as binding in ICE or more basic expressions. Plus I don’t have to run the simulation to see what is going on, you just activate the driver and it works even while Softimage is sitting in pause mode. #2, I also wrote a driver that is designed to work with Xbox-style controllers. The input data is provided as positional data and all driver item names are mapped to Xbox controller names. I’m wondering if there would be any interest in a bundle of these two drivers the support application for something around $50. I am really under the gun to get my next game out (I’m a solo indie game dev) and I just can’t spend any more time on it unless I have some hope it can pay for the time it would take me to make a proper release out of it. I don’t want to assume anyone has any interest at all, and won’t be surprised if there isn’t. I wrote these for my own needs and find them useful so I am happy with that. However, if these sound like tools you would like, please let me know. If enough people want access to them then I can wrap up a few loose ends, do some more testing and do the various things I’d have to do. If a lot of people expressed interest I would be keen to add support for Kinect face tracking data as well as a plug-in mechanism to allow people to easily filter the skeleton data with a .NET DLL prior to handing the data to Softimage. It’s all doable but I can only take the time if it makes business sense which I can only hope everyone understands. Here are some screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/7ayDJ Thanks Eric Cosky -- Michael Johansson Artist/Senior Lecturer/Researcher Kristianstad University Digital Design 29188 Kristianstad Email michael.johans...@hkr.semailto:michael.johans...@hkr.se Infobloom Grönegatan 4a 222 24 Lund Email: mich...@lowend.semailto:mich...@lowend.se www.lowend.sehttp://www.lowend.se www.abadyl.comhttp://www.abadyl.com
Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
Make a video or something just to show the posibilities. Good luck. 2012/7/23 Williams, Wayne wayne.willi...@xaviant.com Set up a kickstarter possibly? ** ** *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of * activemotionpictu...@yahoo.com *Sent:* Sunday, July 22, 2012 9:40 PM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? ** ** Yes please. Oh so much, this will be so helpful to drive things like puppeteering!! A dream come true! *Conectado por DROID en Verizon Wireless* -Mensaje original- *De: *Halim Negadi hneg...@gmail.com* Para: *softimage@listproc.autodesk.com* Enviado: *dom, jul 22, 2012 18:41:25 GMT+00:00* Asunto: *Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? Highly interested as well ! On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 6:28 PM, Gmail arma...@gmail.com wrote: I'm also interested. On Jul 22, 2012, at 10:21 AM, michael johansson mich...@lowend.se wrote: I would be interested. /michael Johanson 2012/7/22 Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim faizol@gmail.com: I'm interested in what you're offering at that price point, but it would much more helpful if we can have more information about it (like a blog or something detailing the tools you're promoting, some how tos etc). Having said that, there's an article on phoronix.com about using kinect devices with Qt toolkit on Linux (Maemo); http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_itempx=MTEyODY The Qt Air Cursor is LGPL licensed and built atop the OpenNI library and OpenCV. Code for Qt Air Cursor can be found here; https://github.com/nemein/Qt_AirCursor I imagine that if you can develop that using Qt toolkit, it would be cross platform and can be maintained using just a single source, if done properly. Cheers, Faizol On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 5:10 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, #1, I recently wrote an application that captures bone data from a Kinect for Windows devices (Important: this is not the XBox Kinect) and sends it to a device driver running in Softimage. It is a functional solution for getting the raw skeletal motion data into Softimage using the device driver interface. I know there is already an ICE-based Kinect solution out there, but this takes a different approach by using a device driver which I find a little more to my liking. I can observe values in a custom parameter set and pull the values from there to do whatever I need with them such as binding in ICE or more basic expressions. Plus I don’t have to run the simulation to see what is going on, you just activate the driver and it works even while Softimage is sitting in pause mode. #2, I also wrote a driver that is designed to work with Xbox-style controllers. The input data is provided as positional data and all driver item names are mapped to Xbox controller names. I’m wondering if there would be any interest in a bundle of these two drivers the support application for something around $50. I am really under the gun to get my next game out (I’m a solo indie game dev) and I just can’t spend any more time on it unless I have some hope it can pay for the time it would take me to make a proper release out of it. I don’t want to assume anyone has any interest at all, and won’t be surprised if there isn’t. I wrote these for my own needs and find them useful so I am happy with that. However, if these sound like tools you would like, please let me know. If enough people want access to them then I can wrap up a few loose ends, do some more testing and do the various things I’d have to do. If a lot of people expressed interest I would be keen to add support for Kinect face tracking data as well as a plug-in mechanism to allow people to easily filter the skeleton data with a .NET DLL prior to handing the data to Softimage. It’s all doable but I can only take the time if it makes business sense which I can only hope everyone understands. Here are some screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/7ayDJ Thanks Eric Cosky -- Michael Johansson Artist/Senior Lecturer/Researcher Kristianstad University Digital Design 29188 Kristianstad Email michael.johans...@hkr.se Infobloom Grönegatan 4a 222 24 Lund Email: mich...@lowend.se www.lowend.se www.abadyl.com ** **
RE: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
Hi, thanks for the responses. Heres a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didnt make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show me leaning down to hit the keyboard. You see the driver window with some of the driver inputs mapped to a custom parameter set, and the custom parameter set controls updating in real time while I move around. What isnt shown is the companion app which shows the video stream and skeleton as provided by the Kinect SDK. If it turns out that I get time add features Id like to add support for face tracking; the Kinect API makes this look pretty doable. Another thing I could see adding is a simple plug-in API to allow people (probably just me) to make DLLs that would process the skeleton data prior to sending it to Softimage. While I dont personally have the need, the system could be extended to send data to Softimage running on another PC or even multiple skeleton streams from multiple Kinects. There really are a lot of interesting ways this tool could evolve if there were enough people to support the effort. Regarding the Xbox controller, as a gamer/gamedev I find the xbox controller an ideal input device for two hand control of all kinds of things. The main thing I like about this setup is that the driver channel names map to the controller, no generalized joystick labels that I have to remember what is what (== what axis is the left trigger?) and it uses positional data so there is no need to set up a proxy to accumulate data like with the Mojoke driver. Another nice feature is that it supports 4 controllers for collaborative control of a rig. The xbox controllers are fairly inexpensive and I use a Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows which allows me to repurpose by xbox controllers if/when I need more inputs. Here is a short video of a character (please forgive the crude model) being manipulated by a single controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJ7mAvLC4w. There are a few bones in the neck/jaw hooked up to the parameter set which is being controlled by the two thumb sticks and triggers. With Softimage there is of course any number of ways to process data, and I am still learning what kind of setup is the best workflow for me but at the moment I think the easiest way to go is to use the load preset command for the driver (the folder icon in the toolbar) to point the targets at different custom parameter sets, which are then referenced by expressions on deformers in the model being animated. This has allowed me to switch what I am recording motion for within a scene pretty easily. An alternative is a synoptic with scripts to load specific presets. As an aside, I did a rough experiment with making custom ICE nodes to read device data (essentially ICE input devices) and I might have been doing something wrong but I found that it was less responsive than drivers expressions. I also didnt care for the need to run the scene to see the inputs change; I think perhaps this is because the drivers use a push model whereas ICE uses a pull model for how data is propagated. Also, the need for quite a few nodes to just do a simple make the right trigger rotate something led me away from using ICE nodes as the source of input data. If necessary or useful I can always make ICE trees get data from the custom parameter set data targeted by the driver. Currently the companion software is written in .NET for Windows. Its not a terribly complicated app, but it does use the Kinect SDK and XAML which means it would take a complete rewrite to get something on Linux. The driver itself is fairly portable but does use a few Win32 APIs to communicate with the companion app. While I have adequate Linux dev experience, I dont currently have a Linux rig to develop on. Im open to the idea of a Linux version but as I mentioned in the first email I have to be very careful about how I spend my time on projects right now and it would be a much larger investment for me to get a rig built and rewrite everything. I have considered a Kickstarter, and I might still do that but I just wanted to test the waters a bit to see what people might think before I took the next step (whatever that may be). If you think you would be interested, please let me know. Thanks for your feedback, Eric Cosky From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto:softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] On Behalf Of javier gonzalez Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 7:38 AM To: softimage@listproc.autodesk.com Subject: Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver? Make a video or something just to show the posibilities. Good luck. 2012/7/23 Williams, Wayne wayne.willi...@xaviant.com Set up a kickstarter possibly? From: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com
Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
One for me, please! On Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:04 PM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, thanks for the responses. ** ** Here’s a very short rough capture of Softimage being fed Kinect data through the driver: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc66W0c5vHA I didn’t make any effort to get a clean capture or anything, just turned it on and moved around a bit. That start/end show me leaning down to hit the keyboard. You see the driver window with some of the driver inputs mapped to a custom parameter set, and the custom parameter set controls updating in real time while I move around. What isn’t shown is the companion app which shows the video stream and skeleton as provided by the Kinect SDK. If it turns out that I get time add features I’d like to add support for face tracking; the Kinect API makes this look pretty doable. Another thing I could see adding is a simple plug-in API to allow people (probably just me) to make DLLs that would process the skeleton data prior to sending it to Softimage. While I don’t personally have the need, the system could be extended to send data to Softimage running on another PC or even multiple skeleton streams from multiple Kinects. There really are a lot of interesting ways this tool could evolve if there were enough people to support the effort. ** ** Regarding the Xbox controller, as a gamer/gamedev I find the xbox controller an ideal input device for two hand control of all kinds of things. The main thing I like about this setup is that the driver channel names map to the controller, no generalized joystick labels that I have to remember what is what (== what axis is the left trigger?) and it uses positional data so there is no need to set up a proxy to accumulate data like with the Mojoke driver. Another nice feature is that it supports 4 controllers for collaborative control of a rig. The xbox controllers are fairly inexpensive and I use a “Xbox 360 Wireless Gaming Receiver for Windows” which allows me to repurpose by xbox controllers if/when I need more inputs. Here is a short video of a character (please forgive the crude model) being manipulated by a single controller: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpJ7mAvLC4w. There are a few bones in the neck/jaw hooked up to the parameter set which is being controlled by the two thumb sticks and triggers. ** ** With Softimage there is of course any number of ways to process data, and I am still learning what kind of setup is the best workflow for me but at the moment I think the easiest way to go is to use the “load preset” command for the driver (the folder icon in the toolbar) to point the targets at different custom parameter sets, which are then referenced by expressions on deformers in the model being animated. This has allowed me to switch what I am recording motion for within a scene pretty easily. An alternative is a synoptic with scripts to load specific presets. ** ** As an aside, I did a rough experiment with making custom ICE nodes to read device data (essentially ICE input devices) and I might have been doing something wrong but I found that it was less responsive than drivers expressions. I also didn’t care for the need to run the scene to see the inputs change; I think perhaps this is because the drivers use a push model whereas ICE uses a pull model for how data is propagated. Also, the need for quite a few nodes to just do a simple “make the right trigger rotate something” led me away from using ICE nodes as the source of input data. If necessary or useful I can always make ICE trees get data from the custom parameter set data targeted by the driver. ** ** Currently the companion software is written in .NET for Windows. It’s not a terribly complicated app, but it does use the Kinect SDK and XAML which means it would take a complete rewrite to get something on Linux. The driver itself is fairly portable but does use a few Win32 APIs to communicate with the companion app. While I have adequate Linux dev experience, I don’t currently have a Linux rig to develop on. I’m open to the idea of a Linux version but as I mentioned in the first email I have to be very careful about how I spend my time on projects right now and it would be a much larger investment for me to get a rig built and rewrite everything. ** ** I have considered a Kickstarter, and I might still do that but I just wanted to test the waters a bit to see what people might think before I took the next step (whatever that may be). If you think you would be interested, please let me know. ** ** Thanks for your feedback, ** ** Eric Cosky ** ** ** ** *From:* softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com [mailto: softimage-boun...@listproc.autodesk.com] *On Behalf Of *javier gonzalez *Sent:* Monday, July 23, 2012 7:38 AM *To:* softimage@listproc.autodesk.com *Subject:* Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox
Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
I would be interested. /michael Johanson 2012/7/22 Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim faizol@gmail.com: I'm interested in what you're offering at that price point, but it would much more helpful if we can have more information about it (like a blog or something detailing the tools you're promoting, some how tos etc). Having said that, there's an article on phoronix.com about using kinect devices with Qt toolkit on Linux (Maemo); http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_itempx=MTEyODY The Qt Air Cursor is LGPL licensed and built atop the OpenNI library and OpenCV. Code for Qt Air Cursor can be found here; https://github.com/nemein/Qt_AirCursor I imagine that if you can develop that using Qt toolkit, it would be cross platform and can be maintained using just a single source, if done properly. Cheers, Faizol On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 5:10 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, #1, I recently wrote an application that captures bone data from a Kinect for Windows devices (Important: this is not the XBox Kinect) and sends it to a device driver running in Softimage. It is a functional solution for getting the raw skeletal motion data into Softimage using the device driver interface. I know there is already an ICE-based Kinect solution out there, but this takes a different approach by using a device driver which I find a little more to my liking. I can observe values in a custom parameter set and pull the values from there to do whatever I need with them such as binding in ICE or more basic expressions. Plus I don’t have to run the simulation to see what is going on, you just activate the driver and it works even while Softimage is sitting in pause mode. #2, I also wrote a driver that is designed to work with Xbox-style controllers. The input data is provided as positional data and all driver item names are mapped to Xbox controller names. I’m wondering if there would be any interest in a bundle of these two drivers the support application for something around $50. I am really under the gun to get my next game out (I’m a solo indie game dev) and I just can’t spend any more time on it unless I have some hope it can pay for the time it would take me to make a proper release out of it. I don’t want to assume anyone has any interest at all, and won’t be surprised if there isn’t. I wrote these for my own needs and find them useful so I am happy with that. However, if these sound like tools you would like, please let me know. If enough people want access to them then I can wrap up a few loose ends, do some more testing and do the various things I’d have to do. If a lot of people expressed interest I would be keen to add support for Kinect face tracking data as well as a plug-in mechanism to allow people to easily filter the skeleton data with a .NET DLL prior to handing the data to Softimage. It’s all doable but I can only take the time if it makes business sense which I can only hope everyone understands. Here are some screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/7ayDJ Thanks Eric Cosky -- Michael Johansson Artist/Senior Lecturer/Researcher Kristianstad University Digital Design 29188 Kristianstad Email michael.johans...@hkr.se Infobloom Grönegatan 4a 222 24 Lund Email: mich...@lowend.se www.lowend.se www.abadyl.com
Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
I'm also interested. On Jul 22, 2012, at 10:21 AM, michael johansson mich...@lowend.se wrote: I would be interested. /michael Johanson 2012/7/22 Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim faizol@gmail.com: I'm interested in what you're offering at that price point, but it would much more helpful if we can have more information about it (like a blog or something detailing the tools you're promoting, some how tos etc). Having said that, there's an article on phoronix.com about using kinect devices with Qt toolkit on Linux (Maemo); http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_itempx=MTEyODY The Qt Air Cursor is LGPL licensed and built atop the OpenNI library and OpenCV. Code for Qt Air Cursor can be found here; https://github.com/nemein/Qt_AirCursor I imagine that if you can develop that using Qt toolkit, it would be cross platform and can be maintained using just a single source, if done properly. Cheers, Faizol On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 5:10 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, #1, I recently wrote an application that captures bone data from a Kinect for Windows devices (Important: this is not the XBox Kinect) and sends it to a device driver running in Softimage. It is a functional solution for getting the raw skeletal motion data into Softimage using the device driver interface. I know there is already an ICE-based Kinect solution out there, but this takes a different approach by using a device driver which I find a little more to my liking. I can observe values in a custom parameter set and pull the values from there to do whatever I need with them such as binding in ICE or more basic expressions. Plus I don’t have to run the simulation to see what is going on, you just activate the driver and it works even while Softimage is sitting in pause mode. #2, I also wrote a driver that is designed to work with Xbox-style controllers. The input data is provided as positional data and all driver item names are mapped to Xbox controller names. I’m wondering if there would be any interest in a bundle of these two drivers the support application for something around $50. I am really under the gun to get my next game out (I’m a solo indie game dev) and I just can’t spend any more time on it unless I have some hope it can pay for the time it would take me to make a proper release out of it. I don’t want to assume anyone has any interest at all, and won’t be surprised if there isn’t. I wrote these for my own needs and find them useful so I am happy with that. However, if these sound like tools you would like, please let me know. If enough people want access to them then I can wrap up a few loose ends, do some more testing and do the various things I’d have to do. If a lot of people expressed interest I would be keen to add support for Kinect face tracking data as well as a plug-in mechanism to allow people to easily filter the skeleton data with a .NET DLL prior to handing the data to Softimage. It’s all doable but I can only take the time if it makes business sense which I can only hope everyone understands. Here are some screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/7ayDJ Thanks Eric Cosky -- Michael Johansson Artist/Senior Lecturer/Researcher Kristianstad University Digital Design 29188 Kristianstad Email michael.johans...@hkr.se Infobloom Grönegatan 4a 222 24 Lund Email: mich...@lowend.se www.lowend.se www.abadyl.com
Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
Highly interested as well ! On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 6:28 PM, Gmail arma...@gmail.com wrote: I'm also interested. On Jul 22, 2012, at 10:21 AM, michael johansson mich...@lowend.se wrote: I would be interested. /michael Johanson 2012/7/22 Muhamad Faizol Abd. Halim faizol@gmail.com: I'm interested in what you're offering at that price point, but it would much more helpful if we can have more information about it (like a blog or something detailing the tools you're promoting, some how tos etc). Having said that, there's an article on phoronix.com about using kinect devices with Qt toolkit on Linux (Maemo); http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_itempx=MTEyODY The Qt Air Cursor is LGPL licensed and built atop the OpenNI library and OpenCV. Code for Qt Air Cursor can be found here; https://github.com/nemein/Qt_AirCursor I imagine that if you can develop that using Qt toolkit, it would be cross platform and can be maintained using just a single source, if done properly. Cheers, Faizol On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 5:10 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, #1, I recently wrote an application that captures bone data from a Kinect for Windows devices (Important: this is not the XBox Kinect) and sends it to a device driver running in Softimage. It is a functional solution for getting the raw skeletal motion data into Softimage using the device driver interface. I know there is already an ICE-based Kinect solution out there, but this takes a different approach by using a device driver which I find a little more to my liking. I can observe values in a custom parameter set and pull the values from there to do whatever I need with them such as binding in ICE or more basic expressions. Plus I don’t have to run the simulation to see what is going on, you just activate the driver and it works even while Softimage is sitting in pause mode. #2, I also wrote a driver that is designed to work with Xbox-style controllers. The input data is provided as positional data and all driver item names are mapped to Xbox controller names. I’m wondering if there would be any interest in a bundle of these two drivers the support application for something around $50. I am really under the gun to get my next game out (I’m a solo indie game dev) and I just can’t spend any more time on it unless I have some hope it can pay for the time it would take me to make a proper release out of it. I don’t want to assume anyone has any interest at all, and won’t be surprised if there isn’t. I wrote these for my own needs and find them useful so I am happy with that. However, if these sound like tools you would like, please let me know. If enough people want access to them then I can wrap up a few loose ends, do some more testing and do the various things I’d have to do. If a lot of people expressed interest I would be keen to add support for Kinect face tracking data as well as a plug-in mechanism to allow people to easily filter the skeleton data with a .NET DLL prior to handing the data to Softimage. It’s all doable but I can only take the time if it makes business sense which I can only hope everyone understands. Here are some screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/7ayDJ Thanks Eric Cosky -- Michael Johansson Artist/Senior Lecturer/Researcher Kristianstad University Digital Design 29188 Kristianstad Email michael.johans...@hkr.se Infobloom Grönegatan 4a 222 24 Lund Email: mich...@lowend.se www.lowend.se www.abadyl.com
Re: Any interest in a Kinect for Windows and/or XBox controller capture driver?
I'm interested in what you're offering at that price point, but it would much more helpful if we can have more information about it (like a blog or something detailing the tools you're promoting, some how tos etc). Having said that, there's an article on phoronix.com about using kinect devices with Qt toolkit on Linux (Maemo); http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_itempx=MTEyODY The Qt Air Cursor is LGPL licensed and built atop the OpenNI library and OpenCV. Code for Qt Air Cursor can be found here; https://github.com/nemein/Qt_AirCursor I imagine that if you can develop that using Qt toolkit, it would be cross platform and can be maintained using just a single source, if done properly. Cheers, Faizol On Sun, Jul 22, 2012 at 5:10 AM, Eric Cosky e...@cosky.com wrote: Hi, ** ** #1, I recently wrote an application that captures bone data from a Kinect for Windows devices (Important: this is not the XBox Kinect) and sends it to a device driver running in Softimage. It is a functional solution for getting the raw skeletal motion data into Softimage using the device driver interface. I know there is already an ICE-based Kinect solution out there, but this takes a different approach by using a device driver which I find a little more to my liking. I can observe values in a custom parameter set and pull the values from there to do whatever I need with them such as binding in ICE or more basic expressions. Plus I don’t have to run the simulation to see what is going on, you just activate the driver and it works even while Softimage is sitting in pause mode. ** ** #2, I also wrote a driver that is designed to work with Xbox-style controllers. The input data is provided as positional data and all driver item names are mapped to Xbox controller names. ** ** I’m wondering if there would be any interest in a bundle of these two drivers the support application for something around $50. I am really under the gun to get my next game out (I’m a solo indie game dev) and I just can’t spend any more time on it unless I have some hope it can pay for the time it would take me to make a proper release out of it. ** ** I don’t want to assume anyone has any interest at all, and won’t be surprised if there isn’t. I wrote these for my own needs and find them useful so I am happy with that. However, if these sound like tools you would like, please let me know. If enough people want access to them then I can wrap up a few loose ends, do some more testing and do the various things I’d have to do. If a lot of people expressed interest I would be keen to add support for Kinect face tracking data as well as a plug-in mechanism to allow people to easily filter the skeleton data with a .NET DLL prior to handing the data to Softimage. It’s all doable but I can only take the time if it makes business sense which I can only hope everyone understands. ** ** Here are some screenshots: http://imgur.com/a/7ayDJ ** ** Thanks ** ** Eric Cosky ** **
