Kinect for Windows SDK beta

[[SS]Midnight]

So basically I think MS planned the Kinect to only be usable with the 360 but it got hacked so fast that they gave up on that and now they are embracing it. Rather graceful transition for them I think. So now they are making their own drivers for public use so that people can really work with this awesome piece of hardware. So many freaking awesome uses for this device.....can't wait.

Coming later this spring, the Kinect for Windows SDK is a programming toolkit that will enable researchers and enthusiasts easy access to the capabilities offered by the Microsoft Kinect device connected to computers running Microsoft Windows 7.

With this SDK, you’ll be able to take advantage of:

* The latest advances in audio processing, which include a four-element microphone array with sophisticated acoustic noise and echo cancellation for crystal clear audio.
* Sound source localization for beamforming, which enables the determination of a sound’s spatial location, enhancing reliability when integrated with the Microsoft speech recognition API.
* Depth data, which provides the distance of an object from the Kinect camera, as well as the raw audio and image data, which together open up opportunities for creating richer natural user interface experiences.
* Highly performant and robust skeletal tracking capabilities for determining the body positions of one or two persons moving within the Kinect field of view.
* Documentation for the APIs and a description of the SDK architecture.
* Sample code that demonstrates how to use the functionality in the SDK.

This SDK is intended for non-commercial use to enable experimentation in the world of natural user interface experiences, with new state-of-the-art features planned for future releases that will continue to provide new ways to experiment.

[Tagger]

Wow! Not a word about tracking IP addresses of people who might have visited a site with hack info lol. Good for MS!

Question: Does Kinect have to be mounted at a certain height to work properly? We just moved into a new house and have the TV mounted above the fireplace mantel leaving the mantel as the only option as a place to set up if I decided to buy a kit. I'd guesstimate the mantel at about 5' off the floor.

[[SS]Midnight]

You want to mount it as close to eye level as you can. However they say that if you place the sensor on the table your TV sits on that should work as well. Also you want to make sure the sensor is place in line with the center line with your TV.

Here is something fun that anyone can do once the SDK is released.