Placing the Kinect
Before going any further, you should make sure your Kinect is in a good spot to track you.
Tracking quality and placement
Tracking quality is heavily dependent on the placement of the Kinect. The distance and angle of the sensor in relation to where you’re going to stand when playing plays a major role in the confidence of the skeleton tracking SDK. More on this subject here.
The Kinect should be at the edge of where you’re going to play in VR, so that you can be facing it.
A minimum distance of 1.5 meters (5 feet) is required for tracking to function. But you should be able to stand about 2 meters (6.5 feet) away for the best experience.
Height-wise, put the Kinect at around eye level. It depends on how tall you are and how big your room is. But generally, it should be high up, pointing down. Never pointing up, it wasn’t made to track like that.
Connecting it to your computer
Using the adapter, connect the sensor to a power outlet, and to your computer. Avoid USB hubs or extensions, as they can degrade the signal quality and data transfer speed of the Kinect, causing various errors.
Installing the drivers
Automatic driver installation
When using Amethyst Installer, the Kinect for Windows SDK will be automatically installed, and the installer will attempt to fix any possible software problems with the driver.
Kinect for Xbox 360 and Kinect for Windows V1 requires the Kinect for Windows SDK v1.8 to function. 1.8 is the last version for 360. 2.0 is for Xbox One.
| Package | Description |
|---|---|
| Kinect for Windows Runtime v1.8 | Includes skeleton tracking and libraries, but only supports Kinect for Windows. |
| Kinect for Windows SDK v1.8 (Download this one) | Includes everything the runtime does, adds support for Xbox Kinect. And headers for development. |
| Kinect for Windows Developer Toolkit v1.8.0 | This one is optional. A bunch of developer samples, including Kinect Explorer, which lets you see the Kinect’s camera feed to better place it. It requires the SDK to be installed first. |
SDK 2.0 conflict
If you have installed the Kinect for Windows SDK v2.0, you may run into issues trying to install v1.8. If the installation fails, try to remove that if it’s present on your system.
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The Kinect for Windows SDK beta provides hobbyists and researchers with the tools to develop non-commercial applications that run on the Kinect for Xbox 360.
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Date Published:
15/07/2024
File Name:
KinectSDK-v1.0-beta2-x86.msi
KinectSDK-v1.0-beta2-x64.msi
KinectSDK-v1.0-beta2-readme.htm
File Size:
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36.1 MB
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The Kinect for Windows SDK beta provides hobbyists and researchers with the tools to develop non-commercial applications that run on the Kinect for Xbox 360. However, non-commercial deployments using Kinect for Xbox 360, which were allowed using the SDK beta, are no longer permitted.
Developers are encouraged to take advantage of the additional features and updates available with the Kinect for Windows SDK v1, which enables the development of commercial applications using Kinect for Windows hardware and systems running Windows operating systems.
Learn more about the Kinect for Windows SDK v1.5 >
The Kinect for Windows SDK includes the following:
- Drivers, for using Kinect sensor devices on a computer running Windows 7 or Windows 8 developer preview (desktop apps only)
- Application programming interfaces (APIs) and device interfaces, along with technical documentation
- Source code samples
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Supported Operating Systems
Windows 7
- Windows 8 Developer Preview (September 2011 Build)
- Hardware Requirements
- 32 bit (x86) or 64 bit (x64) processor
- Dual-core 2.66-GHz or faster processor
- Dedicated USB 2.0 bus
- 2 GB RAM
- A retail Kinect for Xbox 360® sensor, which includes special USB/power cabling
- Software Requirements
- Microsoft® Visual Studio® 2010 Express or other Visual Studio 2010 edition
- NET Framework 4.0
- Microsoft DirectX® SDK — June 2010 or later version
- Runtime for Microsoft DirectX® 9
- Microsoft Speech Platform Runtime, version 10.2 – select 32-bit if you are running 32-bit Windows. If you have 64-bit Windows, we suggest that you install both the 32-bit and 64-bit runtime.
- Microsoft Speech Platform — Software Development Kit, version 10.2 – select 32-bit or 64-bit according to your Windows installation
- Kinect for Windows Runtime Language Pack, version 0.9
For C++ Skeletal Viewer samples
For Speech samples
For additional requirements see the Readme file.
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To set up the Kinect for Windows development environment, install all the required software packages listed in the requirements section. Additional instructions can be found in the readme.
- Компьютеры
- Cancel
Сенсор Kinect, изначально разработанный в качестве бесконтактного контроллера для консоли Xbox 360, позже с помощью умельцев был таки подключен к компьютеру, что отрыло для него огромные возможности. Талантливые программисты писали для сенсора самопальные драйверы и приложения. Сначала Microsoft не одобрил эту идею, но наблюдая, какие доселе невиданные «фишки» творит их изобретение, поспешил выпустить бесплатный набор для разработчиков (SDK), а позже и специальную версию контроллера — Kinect for Windows, отличающуюся наличием полноценного USB-интерфейса и возможностью работы с объектами в меньшей дистанции.
В скором же времени ожидается выход второго поколения контроллера:
Итак, приступим непосредственно к теме сегодняшнего поста, а именно к подключению Кинекта к PC с помощью официального драйвера от Microsoft.
Как отмечалось выше, в отличие от специальной версии Kinect for Windows, обычный иксбоксовский Кинект не будет работать при подключении его напрямую к компьютеру, для этого Вам придется дополнительно приобрести вот такой переходник:
После подключения к компьютеру, необходимо установить ПО, для этого переходим по этой ссылке , где загружаем соответственно: Kinect for Windows SDK и Developer Toolkit.
После благополучной установки необходимых компонентов, можно сразу же попробовать некоторые возможности Вашего Кинект на PC, например: треккинг лица, распознавание скелета, речи, и т.д.
Для этого переходим в Пуск -> Все программы -> Kinect for WIndows SDK -> Developer Toolkit Browser
Откроется вот такое окно:
Выбираем нужный компонент (к примеру, Skeleton Basics-D2D) и жмём Run. Вот так выглядит мой «скелетик»:
Продолжение следует.
Introduction: How to Connect a Kinect
Microsoft’s Kinect is a versatile multimedia input device that can be used as a 3D scanner. Originally it was launched as an extension to the Xbox game console. We describe how to connect a Kinect to your Windows PC.
Nintendo’s Wii game console introduced motion control to games via wireless remote controls. Later Microsoft added motion control to its XBox360 game console as well. They even did not need remote controls. Instead they used a dedicated camera system, called Kinect, that could do the job without remotes … and much more.
The Kinect happened to be a versatile device that, connected to your Windows computer, offers an array of new functions. The most striking one is 3D scanning in a user friendly way. That is very interesting for a device with a second hand street price of USD 25!
The plethora of new functions requires a lot of exploring and experimenting which can start as soon as your Kinect has been connected to your Windows computer. And that, surprisingly, is sometimes a frustrating exercise. We will try to help you out.
Step 1: Identify Your Kinect
AFAIK there are four types of Kinect now:
- Kinect for XBox 360, the original device launched as an extension to the XBox 360 game console.
- Kinect for Windows, i.e. Windows 7, the same as the previous one, only the firmware is more advanced, i.e. allows closer distances to the object.
- Kinect for XBox One, the successor of the earlier Kinect for XBox 360.
- Kinect for Windows v2, i.e Windows 8, the same as the previous one, but now for connection to your PC.
So be sure, you know which Kinect edition you are using.
If you do not have one yet, we recommend the Kinect for Xbox 360 for the moment. It is cheap, the software runs on Windows 7 and you will find many free resources on the internet.
Step 2: Check Your Hardware
Your Kinect needs the right cable and enough power to operate.
This implies:
- Kinect for XBox 360: You need to buy a dedicated power supply unit / USB cable combination (about USD 10).
- Kinect for Windows: You will have a power supply unit / USB cable combination as part of your Kinect package.
- Kinect for XBox One: You need to buy a dedicated power supply unit/ USB 3 cable combination (about USD 10).
- Kinect for Windows v2: You will have a power supply unit / USB cable combination as part of your Kinect package.
Step 3: Remove Kinect Software
When you tried already to install Kinect drivers and/or applications without success, it is wise to un-install them before you proceed.
So, go to the configuration panel in Windows and select «Add / remove programs». Uninstall anything that starts with the word «Kinect». Have a fresh restart of your system afterwards.
Step 4: Install Kinect Software
Installing the Kinect driver became a mess in our case. However, by trial and error, we found a way out.
Issues are:
- You need both a Software Development Kit (SDK) for the drivers and a Developers Tool Kit for the examples and tools. Always install the SDK first and the Developers Tool Kit next.
- You can download the software from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/ where you find two versions (v1.7 and v1.8) for both products.
- Apparently in case you have a Kinect for Xbox 360 or a Kinect for Windows you should use v1.7 which runs on Windows7 (maybe Windows8 as well).
- Apparently, in case you have a Kinect for Xbox One or a Kinect for Windows v2 you have to use v1.8 which runs on Windows8 (maybe Windows7 as well).
Afterwards you will find the Kinect Studio program and a Developer Toolkit Browser plus some documents in your Windows task menu.
Step 5: Connect Your Kinect
Now, first Power On your Kinect and then connect it to your computer via a USB-port.
Wait for at least five minutes. In the meantime you could look at Device management on your Windows machine to see what is happening. After a while, you will receive a Device Ready message.
In the Device manager you will see that four new devices have been installed:
- Kinect for Windows Audio Array Control,
- Kinect for Windows Camera,
- Kinect for Windows Device,
- Kinect for Windows Security Control.
Step 6: Browse Your Kinect Toolkit
Now start the Developer Toolkit Browser for exploring a bunch of ready-to-run demo’s and corresponding documentation.
Step 7: Explore Kinect Studio
One of the applications is Kinect Studio that supports other programs in working with the Kinect.
Step 8: SUMMARY
To conclude, a table with a summary of the options.
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This repository was archived by the owner on May 25, 2024. It is now read-only.
Driver KinectV1
SteamVR driver for Kinect for XBox 360.
Features
- No additional dependencies for SteamVR.
- Configurable motion smoothing.
- Configurable amount of trackers assigned to bones.
- Works on Windows 7, 8/8.1 and 10.
Installation
- Install Kinect for Windows Runtime 1.8 or Kinect for Windows SDK 1.8 (recommended).
- Extract latest release archive to
<SteamVR_folder>/drivers. - Add line in section
steamvrof<Steam_folder>/config/steamvr.vrsettingsfile:"activateMultipleDrivers": true,
Dashboard
Open KinectV1 Dashboard from SteamVR dashboard to gain access to available settings for users:
- Trackers toggle: Allows you to toggle trackers for specific bones.
- Calibration info: Shows transformation of root point of trackers.
- Settings:
- Calibration: Enables changing transformation of root point. After click close SteamVR dashboard and use your controllers to change rotation and position to allign trackers with your assigned body parts:
- Left controller’s touchpad/thumbstick: Rotate left, rotate right, rotate up, rotate down. Press grip to reset rotation.
- Right controller’s touchpad/thumbstick: Move right, move left, move up, move down. Press grip to reset position.
- If trigger is pressed: move forward, move backward.
- Application menu button on any controller: End calibration and save alligned base transformation.
- Toggle tracking: Disable or enable tracking entirely.
- Interpolation type: Sets specific interpolation between Kinect frames. More info is available at Wikipedia’s article.
- Kinect relay device state: Shows if specific virtual base station is present.
- Calibration: Enables changing transformation of root point. After click close SteamVR dashboard and use your controllers to change rotation and position to allign trackers with your assigned body parts:
Building
- Install Kinect for Windows SDK 1.8.
- Clone repository using
git. - Initialize submodules
git submodule update --init --depth=1
- Open
driver_kinectV1.slnin Visual Studio 2013.
Credits
- Thanks to @Holiks-Serbuchev for testing and debugging on real device.