NASA uses Kinect gesture-recognition technology to control a robot arm

Engineers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory aiming to enhance control of robots far from earth, such as the Mars rovers

By Sean Dudley on 15 January 2014

NASA uses Kinect gesture-recognition technology to control a robot arm

NASA is using the latest Kinect for Windows technology to control a robotic arm remotely.

Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory have created a system that uses an Oculus Rift head-mounted display alongside the gesture-recognition technology of Kinect for Windows, and enables users to manipulate the robotic arm accurately and precisely by using their own arm.

The engineering team aims to enhance its control capabilities for robots that are far away from earth, such as the Mars rovers.

A video showing how the technology works is available to watch on the Kinect for Windows blog.