Microsoft has released the Kinect for Windows SDK beta starter kit to provide includes APIs, sample codes and drivers to applications developers. This SDK enables the growing community of developers, academic researchers and enthusiasts to create rich experiences by using Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect sensor technology on computers running Windows 7.
The Kinect for Windows SDK beta includes :
- Drivers, for using Kinect sensor devices on a computer running Windows 7.
- Rich Application programming interfaces (APIs) for Raw Sensor Streams
- Device interfaces, together with technical documentation.
- Source code samples.
The SDK provides Kinect capabilities to developers building applications with C++, C# or Visual Basic®using Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010.
System requirements:
Hardware:
- Kinect for Xbox 360 sensor
- Computer with a dual-core, 2.66-GHz or faster processor
- Windows 7–compatible graphics card that supports DirectX 9.0c capabilities
- 2-GB RAM (4-GB RAM recommended)
Software:
- Windows 7 (x86 or x64)
- Visual Studio 2010 Express (or other 2010 edition)
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0
You can download it using following link:
Download Link (32-bit) Download Link (64-bit)
Microsoft intends to release a commercial version of the SDK at a later date.
Developer Getting Started: http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/KinectSDKQuickstarts
Kinect is the best of the new generation controllers. So much you can do with it without using any controls and if it works as well in PC world then this could be so cool. Kind of cool like touch screens and multitouch screens have been in the tablet world.
Indeed it is.. the next generation of Gaming.. its more fun on hands on.