About

• Open source framework
• Maintained by not-for-profit organization “formed to certify and promote the compatibility and interoperability of Natural Interaction devices, applications, and middleware"
• Provides API for “writing applications utilizing natural interaction”
• Communicates with low level devices and high level middleware

• core library for accessing Kinect camera

• maintained by OpenKinect community (2000+ members) – completely open source
• Large number of wrappers available: Python, C Synchronous, Actionscript, C++, C#, Java JNI, Java JNA, Javascript, Common Lisp

• Includes utilities to record Kinect data dump and simulate Kinect feed by playing recorded data
• Licensing: dual Apach v2/GPL v2

•  Official SDK for interfacing with Kinect
• available for non-commercial use now, commercial package available later
• offers skeletal tracking and audio support, much like other drivers, but with a few differences

Platforms

• Windows XP or later, 32 bit only
• Linux Ubuntu 10.10 or later, x86

• Windows XP, 7
• Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10
• Mac OS X (best to use macports, fink, or Homebrew

•  Windows 7 only

Dependencies

• Win: Visual Studio 2008/2010, Python 2.6+/3.x, PyWin32, WIX 3.5 (optional: Doxygen, GraphViz)
• Linux: GCC 4.x, Python 2.6+/3.x, libUSB 1.0.8, FreeGLUT3 (optional: Doxygen, GraphViz, Mono)
• Mac OS X: Xcode 3.2.6, libUSB 1.0.8 (may be installed via MacPorts or manually) (optional: Doxygen, GraphViz,Mono)

• Base Dependencies:

     -Libusb-1.0 v.>=1.0.3/libusb-win32 (*nix/OSX and Windows respectively)

     -Cmake >= v.2.6

• Sample glview Dependencies:

     -OpenGL

     -Glut

     -Pthreads

• Windows 7 (x86 or x64)
• Visual Studio 2010 Express or other 2010 edition
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0
• samples may require addtl dependencies, see readmes

Hardware Requirements:

• dual-core, 2.66GHz+ processor
• Win7-compatible graphics card with DirectX 9.0c support
• 2GB RAM (4GB recommended)

Features

• RGB / Depth Images
• Physical motors
• Accelerometer
• LED
• Audio output

Capabilities supported, implemented by middleware (usually NITE)

• Full body skeletal/blob data
• Hand tracking
• Gesture detection
• Scene Analysis (using depth sensing)

• RGB / Depth Images
• Full body skeletal/blob data
• Gesture Detection
• Physical motors
• Accelerometer
• LED

• Audio processing using four-element microphone array with noise & echo cancellation
• Sound source localization for beamforming/sound spatial location
• Depth data
• Raw audio/image data
• Skeletal tracking for up to 2 people

Pros:

• Large number of supported middleware and toolkits for skeletal tracking, gesture tracking, etc…
• Existing sample integration into Ogre, Unity
• Greater range of flexibility for integration with overlying toolkits

• Greater range of flexibility for customization
• Large supporting community enables fast development & bug fixes
• Easier to install on a wide range of platforms
• Comes pre-packaged with skeletal/gesture tracking capability

•  Official support for Kinect based projects
• Allows access to microphone array (can combine with position tracking for greater accuracy)
• Does not require initialization pose (can can therefore also pick up targets easier if location is lost)
• May lead to eventual integration into other Microsoft products (XNA, Xbox 360 Community)
• Includes sample code & documentation
• Very easy to install

Cons:

• Can be difficult to install on non-Windows machines

• Not always supported by utility toolkits (FAAST)
• No audio access yet

• Only does skeletal tracking (no finger/hand gesture recognition yet)
• Skeletal tracking limited to 2 people
• Limited to Windows 7 systems