What is Microsoft Kinect?
Kinect is one of the latest and most successful products released by Microsoft. It is replacing touch technology with gesture recognition technology. It is a motion sensing input device that works with Microsoft’s most popular video game console, the Xbox 360, and Windows-based computers. It allows users to control Xbox console or Windows PC with gesture command and voice command.
The Microsoft Kinect device is a bar-like device that sits on a stand below it. It has 3 main parts, namely an RGB camera, 3D depth sensors, and a multi-array microphone. It incorporates the most advanced capabilities like facial recognition, voice recognition and most importantly full body 3D motion capture. The 3D depth sensor works with infrared technology. It uses an infrared laser projector with a monochrome CMOS sensor to capture 3D video data even in low light conditions.
Microsoft Kinect can detect up to 2 active players for motion analysis. Kinect’s sensing capability allows you to track up to 20 joints per player at a time.
The device was initially released as an upgrade for the Xbox console. On June 16, 2011, Microsoft released the non-commercial Kinect Software Development Kit for Windows 7. The SDK included drivers for the device compatible with Windows 7 PCs. With the Kinect SDK, developers can create Kinect applications for Windows PCs. with C++, C# and Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. Microsoft recently released Kinect for Windows 1.5 with advanced features and new languages. It includes a new app called Kinect Studio that developers can use to record, play back, and debug clips of users interacting with the apps.
Microsoft Kinect development refers to the development of applications for use with the Xbox-based Kinect device and Windows PC. PC-based Kinect applications go far beyond gaming and make the device much more useful than just playing games. Many Kinect development companies in the US and around the world are working on developing Kinect applications for social welfare. This includes the implementation of Kinect sensing technology in medical, educational, and many more fields.
Kinect is proving to be the next step up and is replacing touch technology very quickly. The fact that 8 million Kinect devices were sold in the first 60 days of their launch is living proof of this. The gesture recognition revolution has just begun and there are still miles to go.