Shortly after the release, Microsoft's Xbox Kinect was hacked by the open source community. The 3D camera system, which was developed for gaming without a controller, is even suitable for the visualization of real spaces in real-time 3D, as seen in this video.The virtual space is visualized in such a realistic way, that you can use the virtual environment even as a precision dimension measuring instrument.
Many new applications are possible. Among other things, a native avatar control in virtual wolrds is imaginable. In addition, conferences and meetings in augmented reality are conceivable.
Among developers, the new Kinect driver is already called a 3D capture tool.
Source: http://www.you-tek.com/2010/11/hack-turns-kinect-into-3d-video-capture.html