Kinect for Windows SDK Beta Updated

Developers who want to build Kinect applications under Windows can now download the latest Kinect for Windows SDK (Beta) from Microsoft. The update gives developers access to a new set of data that includes raw sensor data, which open the door to innovation at a very fundamental level, as developers could bypass/replace some of the Kinect logic provided by Microsoft.

Microsoft has also added APIs to query data/results from Kinect’s natural user interface. Because it is still in beta stage, the SDK APIs may change along the way, but this is something that developers are well aware of.Finally, some stability have been addressed – especially crashes that happen when the PC goes into sleep mode (a classic!). With each iteration of the Kinect for Windows SDK, we’re getting a little bit closer to getting some Kinect goodness on our PCs. Which applications would you like to see first?

If you have not heard of Kinect, it is a motion-sensing system originally developed for the Xbox 360 game console. By using a camera and two visual sensors (depth+colors), Kinect can track multiple user motion through the use of a virtual skeleton. It allows players to issue game commands using their body.  [SDK Link, Motion sensing overview]

Hubert Nguyen
Categories: Computers, Gaming
Tags: developer, Kinect, sdk, Windows