PrimeSense releases open-source drivers for Kinect technology
Company hopes to promote use of Natural Interaction devices cross-platform
PrimeSense, the company which developed the technology behind Microsoft's Kinect sensor, has released open-source drivers for the camera used in the device and founded an organisation dedicated to the promotion of Natural Interaction devices.
OpenNI, the organisation founded by PrimeSense, has released OpenNI Framework – an open source development kit which includes an API designed to program for the use of Natural Interaction devices.
Middleware included in the package allows users to develop software both for the camera used in Kinect and PrimeSense's own PDSK 5.0 unit, Next-Gen.biz reports.
Kinect was hacked into performing any number of interesting different tasks shortly after it was released, with a group of MIT alumni offering prize money for the first team to demonstrate a successful hack.
It's thought that the plethora of applications which various hacks have opened up for Kinect have accelerated the release of the open-source material, which PrimeSense had always said it would make available.
If you factor in all the limitations (just thinking out loud here: data transfer rates between the Kinect and the 360, the 360's computing power, memory, etc.), one might think that it would actually be pretty darn hard to develop a fun and worthwhile game that uses finger tracking hehe.
@Lee : You make some valid points but my post was really relating to the drivel Sony or it's partners have been spouting about Kinect technology. I heard alot of 10x10 pixels for hand tracking nonsense and them saying it won't work properly, the technology just isn't accurate enough. Well to Sony and everyone else I say this, goto youtube and search for 'Kinect Hand Detection'. It works and it works well, someone just needs to implement it properly in a game and that means alot of quality time with a SDK rather than the 6 months studios had to cobble together some basic games.