[davidthefat]

Originally Posted by Vikesrock

The BOM number being thrown around from TechInsights is an estimate based only on the cost of components. It does not include manufacturing costs, recoup on R&D, retail margins, and any other costs. These types of costs will be included in any COTS solution.

The Kinect works very differently than a pair of cameras set up for stereo vision. It uses an IR projector to illuminate the scene with a dot pattern, the reflections are then observed using an IR Camera. The data from the sensor is then fed into a chip made by a company called PrimeSense that processes that data into the depth image.

I also wanted to address something you posted in the other thread about the Kinect, suggesting that similar things have been around in robotics for a while. I am not aware of any prior solutions that provided depth information with no processing at this resolution (in all 3 dimensions) for anywhere near the $150 price point. If you do know of such a device I would love a link to further info.

I do not want to argue, I said the technology is nothing new, never said the said technology was cheap. The fundamental ideas have been used for quite a long time, in fact, its in the book: http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item...pe=2&tid=10138. The projection of an image is projected onto the object which the camera picks up and processes. Nothing new.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sourc...izNXvg&cad=rja