Kinect for Windows ships with SDK 1.0
PC movement
Microsoft started shipping Kinect for Windows hardware today alongside version 1.0 of the official Kinect for Windows SDK, expanding the company's motion-control operation from Xbox 360 gaming to desktop computing.
Specifically built for developers, the new Kinect for Windows sensor can see objects from as close as 400mm, while the SDK offers support for up to four connected Kinect sensors at once.
There's also improved skeletal tracking, with coders able to control which user is being tracked, as well as enhanced speech recognition accuracy.
Anyone interested can pick up Kinect for Windows for $249 (£207), although the price will be reduced for educational establishments later in the year.
The Redmond firm was last month said to have been testing Asus laptops with built-in Kinect functionality. Perhaps soon we'll see the power of motion-control pitch camp in computer builds the same way webcams did. Swish. ®
COMMENTS
£207???
You can buy an Xbox AND a Kinect for that!
On their own they are <£90.
pocket change
If you are actually trying to build a product $250 is pocket change. If you have any staff you are ripping through cash much faster than 250 bones per day. And is it really worth it to wait for the freetards to hack out firmware updates of low quality? I'm pretty sure this product isn't for the hacker monkeys.
$249 (£207) - WTF ?
Can someone tell me where the feck you get that exchange rate from (MS pricing team) as I'd love to convert some sterling to dollars at the Post Office then find this bank that will give me £207 for $249.
UK consumers having our pockets picked.
Does the XBox version work with the official SDK?
Also if you're doing it for work, you have to follow the rules.
@Ben Norris
>>Exactly what rule prevents a company plugging an xbox kinect into a pc and providing it as a solution?
I don't know if there is a rule, but MS are quite at liberty to do this. You might find that unlikely, but as someone who's worked in the games industry this is pretty normal. For instance when I worked on games in the PS2/XBox era, game-dev companies were not allowed to do their development on retail consoles, they had to buy special dev-kit versions costing £1000s. If they were found out using retail units, they could have their dev-license revoked.
