Kinect-powered robot could help out earthquake victims

We all know the devastating effect that earthquakes have on a community, and it is no surprise to hear of the heartache involved at the recent earth movement in Christchurch, New Zealand. Perhaps this latest invention by a group of engineering students in the UK might come in handy – we’re talking about a rescue robot that is powered by Microsoft’s Kinect which obviously, has been hacked. Developed at the University of Warwick thanks to the geeky Warwick Mobile Robotics (WMR) team, it might actually help reduce the costs involved in earthquake rescue attempts by a significant margin. Current technology is expensive as robots rely on lasers to scan rooms, but WMR’s solution might end up being safer and save a whole lot of money, since it can create an accurate digital model of the room it’s in for a more detailed output which might result in a more successful rescue attempt. This is another prime example of gaming technology being put to good use…