Intel's take on Microsoft's "Kinect" is called RealSense, Thermoelectric Cooling Basics, DIY Active Cooler, and a way to use Windows 10 Gestures on your MacBook.
Let's talk about Intel RealSense!
It's Intel's take on Microsoft's "Kinect" It was developed primarily as a hardware implementation of "gesture-based" IO They just released their newest version of RealSense, the R200 and gave away units at one of the IDF sessions. (I wasn't able to get in. :( ) The new version uses a variety of tech
A 2d camera for conventional image capture // an IR camera for depth perception // an IR laser projector A special Intel chip in the unit captures the 2D image, then uses the IR image to create a 3D image. This enables a few interesting applications:
It gives you 22 tracking points per hand. It allows for interesting camera tricks... like green-screen-less chroma keying. (Since it can scan for depth, you simply tell it not to include anything past a certain distance.) TEC (Thermoelectric Cooling Basics)
A TEC is a solid-state device that uses the "Peltier Effect" to create a "heat flux" between two different materials, acting as a "heat pump" that transfers heat from one side of the device to the other.
You make a TEC by placing two semiconductors, made of different materials, physically parallel to one another, but electrically wired in series. You then attach each semiconductor to a thermally conductive plate. (Ceramic)
You need two different semiconductors because you want two different electron densities When you charge the device (one semiconductor is postive, the other side is negative) you will get a flow of DC current across the junction between the two semiconductors As the current jumps across the junction, one side of the device will get hot, and the other side will get cold. (The heat from the cold side is transferred to the hot side... PLUS the heat generated by the current flowing across the junction.) Advantages vs. Closed Cycle Refrigeration
Small and simple (no moving parts) Long-lived (100,000+ hours) Cooling effect is easily regulated (by adjusting voltage) More durable (in most cases) than a refrigeration unit Disadvantages vs. Closed Cycle Refrigeration
Maximum heat difference of 70 degrees C (The cold side can be no colder than 70 degrees cooler than the hot side.) Inefficient. (10-15% vs. 40-60% for Closed Cycle Refrigeration) Efficiency drops as more heat is pushed through the TEC You can stack TECs to increase cooling potential, but you create an increasingly inefficient devices as you add more TECs. All Peltier Elements will have an ID stamped (usually) on the Hot Side of the element. For example "TEC1-12706" (These are the ones we're using for our project) "TE" stands for "ThermoElectric) "C" means "standard size" vs. "S" for "small size" "1" indicates how many stages are in the device "127" indicates how many P-N couples are in the device "06" indicates how many amps the device is rated for So... our TEC is a Standard 1-stage element with 127 positive-negative couples that can handle 6amps at 12 volts, or 72 Watts. Since our device is 10-15% effective, that 72 watts will get us less than 11 watts of cooling power.
Windows 10 Gestures on a Mac
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