The Korean Demilitarized Zone is one of the most guarded borders in the world.
It's a 2.5-mile-wide area of land that spearates North and South Korea. (Via Wikimedia Commons / United States Marine Corps)
And now it's being guarded by this. Yes, Microsoft's Kinect system is helping South Korean soldiers keep an eye on the border. (Via Microsoft)
According to Kotaku, a South Korean programmer has developed a system that's being used to monitor the DMZ, and it all centers around the Kinect system — which apparently recognizes things that cross the DMZ.
"It can discern the difference between animals and humans. If the system detects a human, it will alert the nearby outpost."
And CNET notes the programmer likely had no idea his system would be used for such a task. He was quoted as saying, "I've never even thought of a game system performing national defense tasks."
Though the Kinect is no stranger to modifications. Here you can see it being used to assist a doctor in surgery. (Via Microsoft)
And here it's being used with a projector to create some pretty amazing shadow puppets. (Via YouTube / Pietro Guedes)
The system was actually introduced last August, but not much is known about it because of national security concerns. The programmer says in the future he plans to update the system to detect heat and heart rates.
- See more at Newsy
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