Intel RealSense 3D Camera for robotics & SLAM (with code)

The Intel RealSense cameras have been gaining in popularity for the past few years for use as a 3D camera and for visual odometry. I had the chance to hear a presentation from Daniel Piro about using the Intel RealSense cameras generally and for SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). The following post is based on his talk. Depth information is important since that gives us the information needed to understand shapes, sizes, and distance. This lets us (or a robot) know how far it is from items to avoid running into things and to plan path around obstacles in the image field of view.