Besides leading to explosive sales for Microsoft, its Kinect add-on for the Xbox 360 has also turned into an impressive “innovation platform,” to quote Tim O’Reilly.

One of those innovations comes from Nitrogen (aka Mike) who hacked a Kinect sensor bar to interface with a home automation control system. As you can see in the video below, the result is lighting that adjusts not only to the presence of people in a room, but also their location.

The possibilities astound. With a little more intelligence, it’s easy to imagine a Kinect-enabled system that can be customized for individual users, their behaviors and the gadgets they use. The collected data alone could provide granular and invaluable insights on energy consumption and take home energy management to new heights.

This is also an example of the amazing stuff that’s being accomplished with unofficial drivers. Microsoft wisely realized that it captured lightning in a bottle and has announced plans to release the official Kinect SDK this spring.

The question is, will Microsoft make Kinect-derived tech a cornerstone of its vision for the smart energy home? Let’s hope…

via Engadget