University of Minnesota computer science professor Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos saved the institution more than $100,000 by using an Xbox Kinect to monitor child subjects in his $4 million research experiment,
writes Frank Bi in the Minnesota Daily in a March 10 article.
Papanikolopoulos is "exploring the use of technology to diagnose children who show symptoms of an array of mental disorders"--a collaboration between the Institute of Child Development, the University of Minnesota Medical School and the College of Science and Engineering.
The university's Center for Distributed Robotics designed the research monitoring system. The $150 controller-free video game device, which detects users' motions, not only costs far less than an alternative system, it eliminates the need for attached skin sensors, reports Bi.