MIX11 Announcement re Microsoft Kinect SDK

Kinect for Windows Beta SDK Opens Doors for Enthusiasts and Academics

Kinect for Xbox 360, recently recognized by Guinness World Records as the fastest-selling consumer device in 60 days, allows users to enjoy games and entertainment with their whole body and voice no controller required.

Since Kinect launched in November 2010, enthusiasts have been exploring the potential of Kinect in a number of unexpected, nongaming scenarios. Today at MIX, Microsoft detailed some of the features in the Kinect for Windows Beta SDK from Microsoft Research coming in the spring, including the following:

• Robust Skeletal Tracking for high-performance capabilities that track the skeleton image of one or two persons moving within the Kinect field of view

• Advanced Audio Capabilities, including four-element microphone array with sophisticated acoustic noise and echo cancellation for great audio; beam formation to identify the current sound source and integration with the Windows speech recognition API also included

• XYZ depth camera for standard color camera stream access and depth data that indicates the distance of the object from the Kinect camera

Developers can sign up to be notified of the release at https://research.microsoft.com/kinectsdk.

Microsoft’s support for Kinect beyond the Xbox platform will increase opportunities for developers to explore new ideas and deliver innovative Kinect applications and experiences.