Kinect for Windows can make pumping iron more efficient

It’s been a while since Kinect got any love. With the peripheral all but abandoned by Xbox One games, it managed to avoid a lifetime of obscurity by getting picked up by software developers that saw the raw potential in its SDK. Kinect may not be much of a gaming device anymore, but it’s responsible for some really interesting stuff – from trippy music videos to, now, weightlifting companions.

Software engineer Vangos Pterneas has put up a tutorial teaching Kinect software developers how to track objects, using a sample program that can track the height of a barbell as a person lifts it. While the Kinect SDK can track human joints right off the bat, it doesn’t have the ability to track objects all on its lonesome – to do that, developers should follow Pterneas’ tutorial.

As you can see, the software is a pretty reliable and valuable tool for people who have a Kinect sensor and want to use it to help them lift weights. Even if you’re not a weightlifter, the program is a proof of concept for a technique that has countless other uses outside of an exercise routine. If you’re just interested in lifting weights and don’t want to go about tweaking the code yourself, you can see the program in its entirety through GitHub, where it’s available totally open source.