While the modding community has been all over Kinect since the thing was launched late last year, Microsoft has now finally released its own official software development kit beta to the public, as a free download.
“The Kinect for Windows SDK beta is a programming toolkit for application developers. It enables the academic and enthusiast communities easy access to the capabilities offered by the Microsoft Kinect device connected to computers running the Windows 7 operating system,” says the press stuff accompanying the launch.
“The Kinect for Windows SDK beta includes drivers, rich APIs for raw sensor streams and human motion tracking, installation documents, and resource materials. It provides Kinect capabilities to developers who build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.”
The SDK is also currently provided for non-commercial uses only, with a commercial version “expected to be available at a later date”. You can download it from the official site linked above. Go on, see if you can find a proper use for it.
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