Kinect SDK for Windows shown off, coming soon

What I'm Reading

It has been in the cards for a while, but now it’s been shown off for real: the Kinect SDK is coming to Windows. The beta will be available some time in the spring, with an eventual release later in the year. The SDK will give Windows developers access to the Kinect’s array of sensors, and will make both low-level sensor data and high-level skeleton tracking available.

Developers have been interested in Kinect since it launched, with third-party drivers being developed just days after the device hit the market—a swift response that surprised even Microsoft. The company is keen to capitalize on this considerable interest, hence the SDK release. Initially the SDK will only offer noncommercial usage terms; commercial licensing is on the cards, but the company is not yet sure what the terms will be.