Kinect SDK Beta

You guys are awesome! Thank you.

Sweet, I have been anxiously awaiting for the official Kinect SDK to be released.

Thanks a lot.

And there's Microsofts famous push to get everyone off of old software. Windows 7 only and there goes all the hype I had for the Kinect SDK. What next are you going to make the next minor version ofVisual Studio 2011 and XNA Game Studio 4 only run on Windows 7?


/rant off.

I'm honestly not aware of why it is Windows 7, but I would assume it was a few different factors. There are specific Windows 7 speech APIs that are used, and due to the rush to get it out, it was probably much faster to not have to do the testing on multiple older OS's...

That probably doesn't help you in your current situation if you don't have a Windows 7 machine, but I think there is some technical background to the issue rather than simply pushing new software...

And there's Microsofts famous push to get everyone off of old software. Windows 7 only and there goes all the hype I had for the Kinect SDK.

There are other drivers you can use which are cross platform https://github.com/OpenKinect/libfreenect

hi
i am new in this forum.
but Kinect-software-developments have more trees:
1) libfreenect is for ubuntu10.10 only linux :-)
you can work with gcc (g++) and opencv2.0.0 and opengl
no skeletons in the moment (but kinect-motor)....
licence apache no restrictions
2) OpenNi.google groups
1) for window
2) linux
3) mac
- skeletons with y-pose
regards nomads

[quote name='XXChester' timestamp='1308342213' post='4824594']
And there's Microsofts famous push to get everyone off of old software. Windows 7 only and there goes all the hype I had for the Kinect SDK.

There are other drivers you can use which are cross platform https://github.com/O...ect/libfreenect


[/quote]

[quote name='XXChester' timestamp='1308342213' post='4824594']
And there's Microsofts famous push to get everyone off of old software. Windows 7 only and there goes all the hype I had for the Kinect SDK.

There are other drivers you can use which are cross platform https://github.com/O...ect/libfreenect


[/quote]

Right I know this, but good luck getting one of these games out publicly without a lawsuit. That is why I was excited for the official SDK because you can play with it for free and than buy the commercial license and legally produce a game that uses Kinect.

The Kinect for Windows SDK beta is available for download:

http://research.micr...ects/kinectsdk/

There is support for both managed (C#,VB.net) and unmanaged (C++) versions of the API, and it provides access to the raw sensor data (color images, depth images, and audio arrays) as well as high level processed data (speech recognition and skeletal tracking) - so if you are interested in experimenting with the technology then download it and get started!

The Kinect SDK beta is for educational use only. Microsoft won't let you use this to create animation for a game
that you intend to sell.

Which, makes it useless for game developers who are looking for a cheap mocap solution.

The Kinect SDK beta is for educational use only. Microsoft won't let you use this to create animation for a game
that you intend to sell.

Which, makes it useless for game developers who are looking for a cheap mocap solution.

If you only use it for mocap (i.e. as a tool), then you don't need to distribute any software that was developed with the SDK, nor do you need to distribute the SDK itself... There's nothing in the terms saying you can't use it to create content, or that the terms extend to content created by indirect use of their services.

People were already using it for cheap mocap before the SDK came out anyway - autodesk even gave an on-stage demo to developers showing them how to do it.
[edit]Actually, you're right --
"You must not (and you have no license to): ... [use] the Software in your internal business operations"

Looks like you have to use a 3rd party driver if you want to use this for mocap in a business environment...

If 3rd party drivers can create content from Kinect too, then I don't see how Microsoft would know the difference.

The Kinect SDK only runs on Windows 7, and only supports VS2010.

Those are two more reasons why I would go with something else.

If 3rd party drivers can create content from Kinect too, then I don't see how Microsoft would know the difference.

The Kinect SDK only runs on Windows 7, and only supports VS2010.

Those are two more reasons why I would go with something else.

To be completely honest, I wouldn't take the release of this SDK as a bad thing. It is for non-commercial use, but there will be a commercial SDK coming out later (although we don't know exactly when or what the terms will be...). Since this SDK is free, and there is no big benefit to Microsoft (researchers were already using the 3rd party stuff, so sales are not behind it) outside of public relations and a whole bunch of people using their product with their SDK.

I haven't checked out the 3rd party libraries in a while, but this SDK gives you robust skeleton tracking for two people, plus additional simplified tracking for others in the background. It also provides speech recognition and general audio based positioning too, supporting both native and managed languages. Considering the time frame that it was released in, the price, and the functionality that comes with it, I am quite happy with how the SDK has turned out... The commercial stuff will have to wait - until then, why not try it out and see what you can do with it?

I, for one, appreciate the release. It gives me confidence it's worthwhile to learn to use the device on this platform. Hacks don't do that. People producing those hacks can't drive 10 million units of sales. Good for research, curiosity, learning, but there's a whole lot of things I could spend my time learning with computers. It's beta and from MS Research, but the device has gone mainstream on the XBox. Break out of the gaming market into NUI with integration into Windows 8 and, to me, 100 million units is very realistic. I don't mind gambling a little, but the SDK being released makes it a whole lot less of a gamble. The best part is the skeletal tracking. The depth data would be hard to use without that. With it some really amazing things are appropriate for beginning programmers. Pong using your hands to control the paddles is trivial.