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Microsoft Announces Kinect for Windows

Written by Austin Griffith

Microsoft announced Kinect for Windows 7 & Windows 8 today at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas today.

The device will be for Windows machines running Windows 7 and 8 and using the Kinect SDK.

Kinect for Windows will..

  • Utilize Kinect skeletal-tracking, sophisticated microphone array, and other sensor technologies
  • Link computers to Kinect devices running Windows 7 and Windows 8 Developer Preview
  • Run applications built with the Kinect for Windows Commercial Software Development Kit (SDK)
  • Use the Kinect for Windows SDK to build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Studio Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010
  • The sensor will only work on computers running the SDK software.

While it’s currently unclear how Kinect for Windows differs from Kinect for Xbox and whether the two are interchangeable, the Amazon page offers this information:

This Kinect Sensor for Windows has a shortened USB cable to ensure reliability across a broad range of computers and includes a small dongle to improve coexistence with other USB peripherals. The new firmware enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 50 centimeters in front of the device without losing accuracy or precision, with graceful degradation down to 40 centimeters. “Near Mode” will enable a whole new class of “close up” applications, beyond the living room scenarios for Kinect for Xbox 360.

The Kinect for Windows sensor unit is intended to be used with the following:
-Kinect for Windows Commercial SDK
-An application that was developed using the Kinect for Windows Commercial SDK and associated runtime software.


Hardware Requirements
-32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64) processor
-Dual-core 2.66-GHz or faster processor
-Dedicated USB 2.0 bus
-2 GB RAM

 

The sensor releases February 1st for a whopping $249.99, $100 more than Kinect for Xbox 360.

Preorder Kinect for Windows via Amazon.

About the author

Austin Griffith

Austin Griffith owns LevelSave.com

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