Portable Kinect scanning
I’d done a few experiments in the past with the Kinect / Skanect software (here, here). The biggest issue (other than my underpowered Macbook Air) was that you’re tied via the USB cables to both the computer, and the electrical socket in the wall: Hard to walk around things to scan them.
After looking at the wall-wart for the Kinect, I saw that it works off 12v DC: Based on that, I picked up a small 12v Tysonic battery from Jameco, cut off the wall-wart, and soldered in some alligator clips to the power-cord. Now the Kinect clips directly to the battery (which fits in my pocket), allowing me to hold the Kinect in one hand (based on this sweet 3d-printed grip), my laptop in the other, for completely untethered scanning.
So while it is still way more clunky than an iSense/iPad combo, that battery only cost me $15, and I got the Kinect used for $50: A slightly lower price-point than a iSense/iPad purchase 😉
