Kinect hackers create lag-free virtual keyboard

Real pianos are so 20th century. The future of music lies in virtual instruments (but notPower Gig), and thanks to a pair of musically inclined Kinect hackers at OpenKinect, you may soon be able to get your Chopin on anywhere you please...

Developed by Peter Morton and Matthew Yeung, the program utilizes Kinect's motion sensing to measure body movements in relation to a virtual keyboard. As shown in the video, this virtual keyboard can be as big as an office or as small as the surface of a desk. What's really special about this particular hack is its lightning-fast response time and the relative complexity of the program.

In a comment on his YouTube video, Peter Morton explained: “The keys are independent - so technically you could depress all of them by lying down across the keyboard or something. It doesn't sound very good though.”

The comparisons to Tom Hank's famous scene with FAO Schwartz's giant piano in Big are obvious, and – to be honest – a little too easy. Instead, we prefer to leave you with this nerd-worthy rendition of Bach:

Dec 9, 2010

[Source: Geek.com]

The coolest secret video game music
Audio wonders most people never hear