All of the amazing hacks people have unleashed on Kinect to do crazy, weird, awesome stuff? It’s about to get more insane, because it won’t just be hackers doing the noodling.
Microsoft’s going to release a full SDK for Kinect on Windows 7 that lets developers access more than just the messy raw data people have been extracting, allowing devs to start coming up with even wilder, more sophisticated Kinect apps.
The goal of the new SDK, coming this (northern) spring, is to “meet the needs of higher-level people who don’t care how the camera works” but just have an amazing idea of what they wanna do with Kinect, says Microsoft’s head brain Craig Mundie. The SDK will provide drivers and libraries that live above the raw data, allowing devs to fully tap the RGB camera, mic array, and motors that move Kinect around.
Initially, it’ll be for enthusiasts and academics, not people who’ll be making money off their Kinect apps – but there’s a plan for those folks in the future.