Kinect for Windows Receives Significant Update

The Kinect for Windows blog was updated with news of a new SDK launched on Monday. It's billed as "the most significant" update since the launch of the first version just over a year ago, offering Kinect Interactions, Kinect Fusion, an enhanced developers toolkit, and additional developer resources.

Bob Heddle, Director of Kinect for Windows, explains that Kinect Interactions provides tools for businesses and developers to create intuitive, smooth, and polished applications that are ergonomic and intelligently based on the way people naturally move and gesture. These interactions include push-to-press buttons, grip-to-pan capabilities, and support for smart ways to accommodate multiple users and two-person interactions.

As for Kinect Fusion, it creates accurate 3D renderings of people and objects by fusing together multiple snapshots from the sensor to create 3D models. The developer can actually grab the Kinect sensor and move it around the person or object to "paint" a 3D image in real-time. In turn, these images can be used to enhance real-world scenarios such as augmented reality, 3D printing and more.

In addition to those two features, the updated SDK adds OpenCV and MATLAB Samples, and Kinect for Windows Code Samples on CodePlex. The latter addition marks the first time that select Kinect for Windows code samples will be available through an open-source resource.

"[The new SDK is] fully compatible with all previous commercial releases, so we encourage everyone to upgrade to the new version," Heddle said. "As always, we are constantly evolving the technology and want to know what you think. The Kinect for Windows sensor, together with the SDK, can help you create engaging applications that take natural voice and gesture computing to the next level."

Kinect for Windows SDK 1.7 can be downloaded directly from Microsoft along with the developer toolkit and the new and improved Human Interface Guidelines (HIG).

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