Kinect (initially known by the codename Project Natal) is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. It is sensitive to human body movement and also contains microphones that can be used for speech recognition and voice control.
History[]
The Kinect was released for the Xbox 360 in North America on November 4, 2010; Europe on November 10, 2010; Australasia on November 18, 2010; and Japan on November 20, 2010. Much of Microsoft's presence at the E3 Expo in 2010 had been dedicated to Kinect for the Xbox 360.
It was released for Windows on February 1, 2012 and for the Xbox One on November 22, 2013. Kinect for Windows was discontinued on April 2, 2015 and for the Xbox 360 on April 20, 2016. The Xbox One Kinect was discontinued on October 25, 2017.
In 2020, Microsoft released Azure Kinect as a continuation of the technology integrated with the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform. Part of the Kinect technology was also used within Microsoft's HoloLens project.
Features[]
Controller-free input[]
The Kinect has been compared to playing a Wii/PS3, but without a physical controller, using only body movements and gestures.
Voice[]
The sensor bar also features voice recognition. Instead of using the controller to point to a menu item, the player can just speak their menu choices. For example:
- "Play movie"
- "Play game"
It can be also used with third-party apps, such as Facebook and Twitter.
Picture taking[]
Some games offer the opportunity to take the player's picture, such as recording the pose made at the end of a game.
External links[]
- Azure Kinect Developer Kit at Microsoft
- Azure Kinect DK documentation at Microsoft Docs
- Kinect for Windows at Microsoft Developer
- Kinect for Windows SDK v1.8
- Starting to Develop with Kinect by Leland Holmquest
- Kinect at Wikipedia
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