Kinect for Windows Developer Resources

With Microsoft’s release of the official Kinect for Windows SDK last month there is certainly no better time than now to start making Kinect applications. However, if you’ve purchased the official Kinect for Windows hardware one of the first things you’ll notice is that the box is devoid of any kind of software. Perhaps a bit surprising, the Kinect for WIndows sensor is a developer’s tool and not the consumer toy that was the Kinect for XBOX. Although identical in hardware, they Kinect for Windows opens up the doors for commecial projects based on the Kinect platform which were previously relegated to research and non-commercial endeavors. Maybe once Kinect Apps start to reach the market (I’m still waiting for an Apple-like Kinect App store to emerge…) the Kinect will reach the same level of desktop ubiquity as of the webcam or wireless mouse but until then developers are left to carve their own paths and explore the unique possibilities of the Kinect. So without further ado, here is a collection of Kinect programming resources compiled from a research-filled February. Clicking any of the images will redirect to the source.

Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows (main site)

• This is the official resource for developing Kinect for Windows applications, and the place you'll go to download the Kinect for Windows SDK. You’ll also want to peruse the site to understand the wide range of resources provided by Microsoft (some of which are included in the following list).

Kinect for Windows Programming Guide

• This is the place for a wide variety of technical details on the Kinect and the Kinect for Windows SDK tools and APIs. This is the good quick reference for engineers and developers.

Channel 9 Coding4Fun Kinect Series

• This is the place to go (and Microsoft will lead you here) to get started with coding. There are lots of downloads, and up-to-date posts on the latest Kinect apps and projects. The Kinect for Windows Quickstart Series, which includes videos, setup guides, and examples, is a great place to take the plunge into Kinect programming.

Codeplex – Open Source Kinect projects

• Microsoft’s Codeplex is the place to look for open source projects. While there are only a handful of Kinect for Windows SDK projects at the moment, they provide a good jumping off point for your own applications and are worth checking out. You’ll see a lot of cross-over with the Channel9 posts here.

Open Kinect Wiki

• The Open Kinect Wiki is not afilliated with the Kinect for Windows platform but rather stemmed from the original Kinect for XBOX platform. The primary focus is on the development of an open source set of software tools called “libfreenect” which is not compatible with the Kinect for Windows platform, so Caveat Emptor, but the number of resources available here warrants its inclusion in this list. Within this same category is the OpenNI program which provides a variety of NUI software tools compatible with the Kinect for XBOX (but not the Kinect for Windows) platform. The OpenNI group stems from PrimeSense, which provides the core 3D camera system in the Kinect and who has also released similar products with Asus (Xtion).

Chipworks’ Teardown of the Microsoft Kinect

• This teardowon provides a good examination of the hardware inside the Kinect sensor. There are quite a few teardowns out there but this one gets up close and personal with the components and their technical specifications. EE times quotes the bill of materials in the Kinect at around $56 with the PrimeSense 3D sensor component at only $17, which is a major factor in the success of the Kinect.
  
  
  
  

Why the Kinect for Window Sensor Costs $249.99

• Following up on the teardown and BOM, I thought this blog post (which is not affiliated with Microsoft) provided a good analysis of where the $249 price tag comes from given the low BOM. There’s also a nice collection of posts on the working with Kinect.

Kinect Depth vs Actual Distance post

• This is an old post (2/3/2011) but at some point you’ll probably find yourself considering the limitations of the Kinect, and this is a good place to start. The post discusses how the values coming from the Kinect stack up against physical measurements and provides a good starting place for making your own measurements.

Kinect White Papers

• For the more academically-inclined, these are several white papers which provide much more detail on the capabilities of the Kinect. If you have detailed, “How does it work?” questions these are places to look. Topics like Projector-Camera calibration, triangulation, and Kinect “speckle pattern” analysis are covered. The papers are:
  
  The Kinect Sensor Platform
  Accuracy Analysis of Kinect Depth Data
  Reverse Engineering the Kinect Stereo Algorithm
  Super Resolution for Active Light Sensor Enhancement

If there are any other resources out there which weren’t included or this post sparks any questions don’t hesitate to get in touch. Cheers.