Border security is no game… or maybe it is

Engadget reports on South Korea’s deployment of Microsoft Kinect devices on the DMZ:

According to Hankooki, the Korean military is currently using Kinect sensors to monitor movements at the border between North and South Korea. Thanks to software developed by Jae Kwon Ko, the sensors can make out the difference between animals or humans, allowing it to notify a nearby outpost if a person is attempting to cross the border illegally. As you’d expect, the South Korean military’s keeping most details under wraps, but Ko shared that they’re looking to upgrade the system with heart rate and heat detection.

I’ve been told that securing a border is unpossible, but maybe the people who say that should give the Kinect a try.  Presumably the risk of North Korean soldiers slipping past the system with five-star “Dance Dance Revolution” moves has been judged minimal.  

This is a pretty clever use of some relatively cheap off-the-shelf consumer technology.  Hopefully a public version is made available before the zombie apocalypse, because a few Kinects could provide vital early-warning protection for your campsite.