Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Development
    • PC Hardware

    Microsoft Ships Kinect for Windows v2 Developer Preview Kits

    By
    Pedro Hernandez
    -
    November 26, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      developer kit

      Microsoft’s splashy Xbox One launch overshadowed news that could have a potentially huge impact on the company’s efforts to mainstream gesture-based computing.

      The company announced on Fri. Nov. 22, the same date that the Xbox One hit store shelves in select territories, that it had begun shipping Kinect for Windows v2 Developer Preview kits. The kit includes a pre-release version of the new Kinect sensor, essentially the same upgraded motion controller hardware that is bundled with the Xbox One.

      Participants of the program are also entitled to the final version of Kinect for Windows v2 sensor when it goes on sale next summer. “Thousands of developers,” have been selected for the program, according to Microsoft.

      Microsoft has high hopes for the new Kinect. Its predecessor became a hit with the hacker community soon after it was released. Featuring low-cost, relatively feature-rich sensor technology from Tel Aviv-based PrimeSense, which Apple just acquired for $350 million, it spawned several projects, including self-navigating robots and 3D scanners. The company provided 3D scanning support with the release of the Kinect for Windows software development kit (SDK) 1.7 March 18.

      In October, Microsoft Research Asia showcased Kinect Sign Language Translator. The project, still in its early stages, translates sign language into speech, and vice versa. “There are more than 20 million people in China who are hard of hearing, and an estimated 360 million such people around the world, so this project has immense potential to generate positive social impact worldwide,” Guobin Wu, research program manager for Microsoft Research Asia, said in a blog post.

      The new Kinect should help developers and other tech enthusiasts push the technology even further. “Microsoft believes that the opportunities for revolutionizing computing experiences will be even greater with this new sensor,” stated the company.

      Earlier this year, the company unveiled its latest vision of pervasive computing by opening the Envisioning Center at its Redmond, Wash., campus. Several Kinect-powered attractions depict users interacting with technology using touch-screens, gestures and their own voices without a PC keyboard in sight.

      Kinect 2 and its new capabilities, the company hopes, may lead to innovations with the potential to impact several industries. “The benefits will raise the bar and accelerate the development of NUI [natural user interface] applications across multiple industries, from retail and manufacturing to health care, education, communications and more,” said Microsoft.

      Enhancements include Kinect Real Vision technology, which provides an expanded field of view for better line of sight and employs three-dimensional geometry to make fine-grained determinations about its environment. An always-on infrared camera (IR) allows the hardware to “see in the dark.”

      Kinect Real Motion delivers “precise control over an application” due to its ability to detect subtle gestures. Kinect Real Voice leverages the hardware’s new multi-microphone array to provide advance noise isolations, and enable the sensor to pick out users and their voice commands in a crowd.

      Pedro Hernandez
      Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×