Miku fans are delighted that Kinect is finally doing something useful – the system has been hacked to serve as a motion capture device for MikuMiku Dance.

MikuMiku Dance is a freeware 3D modelling tool designed specifically for creating 3D CG Vocaloid MADs.

The major weakness of MMD modelling has frequently been a lack of accessible motion capture to provide smooth and convincing dancing – with Kinect used as a motion capture device, this issue can be neatly sidestepped, although MAD creators will still need a competent dancer to capture.

The system in action:

Aside from some overactive clothing and hair physics, and the usual atrocious clipping issues, the results are most convincing indeed.

Some of the other functionality now available to MMD maestros:

Kinect itself is proving a most impressive piece of hardware as well:

Whilst even all this is unlikely to save Kinect in Japan, it does look set to provide a new generation of motion-captured MADs – quite an improvement.