Microsoft originally designed its Kinect controller as a way to play Xbox 360 games via gesture and spoken words. Launched in Nov. 2010, the device (shown below with the Xbox) features an RGB camera, a multi-array microphone, and an infrared depth sensor.
Microsoft's Kinect

As we review later in this story, the company announced Nov. 4 that the Kinect will be able to work with Windows 8 (and Windows 7, too), thanks to a revised software development kit (SDK). Now, Microsoft has promised changes to the Kinect hardware that will make the controller more suitable as a PC peripheral.

The Nov. 22 blog posting by Craig Eisler, general manager for Kinect for Windows, didn't say whether the revisions will be confined to a specific SKU, or rolled out to all Kinects the company manufactures, though we expect the latter. The changes are said to include:

• new firmware allowing the depth camera to see "as close as 50 centimeters [about 20 inches] in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters"
  
  
• a shorter USB cable, "to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers"
  
  
• and a dongle "to improve co-existence with other USB peripherals"

Eisler didn't give a time frame for the changes, but hinted that they'll be rolled out by the time the Kinect for Windows commercial program makes its debut early next year. "'Near mode' will enable a whole new class of 'close up' applications for the Kinect," he added.

Background

In February, Microsoft noted that the "Kinect for Xbox 360 and the potential seen within its core technology have captured the imaginations of the academic research and enthusiast communities," and June 16 saw the release of a Kinect for Windows SDK (software development kit) beta. In September, Redmond followed up with a public beta of Robotics Developer Studio 4, software that allows the Kinect to act as the eyes and ears of robots.

June's Kinect for Windows SDK was accompanied by licensing terms explicitly limiting its use to hobbyists, academics, and other non-commercial users. But Microsoft announced Oct. 31 that commercial developers will be able to create Kinect-enabled apps by early next year. (It didn't say, however, whether the commercial SDK will actually contain different code, or just a different license.)

Since then, the company has unveiled both a Kinect for Windows website and a Beta 2 release of the hobbyist SDK. A key enhancements in the latter is support for the Windows 8 Developer Preview edition that the company released in September.

Microsoft describes its Kinect for Windows SDK v1.0 Beta 2 as including drivers, rich APIs for raw sensor streams and human motion tracking, installation documents, and resource materials. It provides Kinect capabilities to developers who build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, the company adds.

In addition to Windows 8 support, other enhancements in Beta 2 include the following, as described in a readme file:

• Significant improvements to skeletal tracking:
• Accuracy has been improved overall, resulting in more precise tracking.
• Skeletal Frame delivery is faster, resulting in reduced latency.
• Skeletal Tracking is now multi-threaded and can take advantage of multiple CPU cores.
• When using two Kinects, developers can now specify which one is used for skeletal tracking.
  
  
• API support for detecting and managing device status changes, such as device unplugged, device plugged in, power unplugged, etc.
  
  
• Developers using the audio within WPF no longer need to access the DMO from a separate thread.
  
  
• The driver, runtime, and SDK work correctly on the Windows 8 Developer Preview for desktop applications.
  
  
• The SDK can be used to build 64-bit applications.  Previously, only 32-bit applications could be built.
  
  
• NuiImageBuffer has been replaced by INuiFrameTexture, defined in MSR_NuiImageCamera.h.  It is no longer necessary to include the file NuiImageBuffer.h in your project.
  
  
• The SDK install structure and default location have changed.  The install location is in the environment variable %KINECTSDK_DIR% which defaults to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Kinect\v1.0 Beta2
  
  
• Sample code changes:
• There is a new C#sample: KinectAudioDemo.
• The samples have been updated.  Also the C# samples use helpers, KinectWpfViewers, that may be useful in your apps.
• The samples are now installed to Samples folder of the SDK directory, which defaults to C:\Program Files\Microsoft SDKs\Kinect\v1.0 Beta2\Samples.
  
  
• Driver and runtime stability and performance improvements, especially for the managed API layer.

According to a blog posting by Frank Shaw, Microsoft's vice president for corporate commuuncations, more than 200 applications have already been received for Microsoft's commercial pilot program for the Kinect. As an example of the type of software that will result, he cited a program (see below) that allows surgeons to scroll though medical images in an operating room using only gestures, avoiding the need to re-scrub.

A Kinect-controlled medical imaging system
Source:Microsoft

Microsoft had signaled for some time that it intended to use advances in 3D sensing for products outside the gaming arena. In late 2010, it acquired Canesta, a maker of 3D-image sensor chips and camera modules that can be embedded in a variety of consumer products, including laptops and vehicle dashboards.

There is little question that within the next decade we will see natural user interfaces become common for input across all devices," Jim Spare, president and CEO of Canesta, wrote in an Oct. 29, 2010, statement posted on the startup's website. "With Microsoft's breadth of scope from enterprise to consumer products, market presence, and commitment to NUI, we are confident that our technology will see wide adoption across many applications that embody the full potential of the technology."

This promotional video showcases the "Kinect Effect"
(click to play)

Further information

Downloads of the Kinect for Windows SDK v1.0 Beta 2 are offered, in both 32- and 64-bit versions, on the Microsoft Download Center.

System requirements include a Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor; a computer with a dual-core, 2.66GHz (or faster) processor; a Windows 7-compatible graphics card with support for DirectX 9.0c capabilities, and 2GB of RAM. Required software includes Windows 8 Developer Preview Edition or Windows 7, Visual Studio 2010 Express (or other 2010 edition), and Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0.

Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.

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• Microsoft to acquire Canesta, 3D tech patents
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