Hasta La Gadget!

Kinect SKD will launch this Spring, according to a recent blog post by Microsoft. The Kinect SKD will let PC users to use their body as a mouse in Kinect supported PC games.

Here is what Microsoft stated in the post regarding Kinect SKD-

The community that has blossomed since the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360 in November shows the breadth of invention and depth of imagination possible when people have access to ground-breaking technology. Already, researchers, academics and enthusiasts are thinking through what’s next in natural and intuitive technology. For example, in January I mentioned Craig’s talk at the Cleveland Clinic, where he highlighted students at the University of Washington’s Biorobotics Lab using Kinect with a commercially available PHANTOM Omni Haptic Device to explore how robotic surgery could be enhanced by incorporating the sense of feel.

The Kinect for Windows SDK is being developed and released by Microsoft Research (MSR) in collaboration with IEB. It will be available this spring as a free download, and will give academic researchers and enthusiasts access to key pieces of the Kinect system–such as the audio technology, system application programming interfaces and direct control of the Kinect sensor itself.

Microsoft has realized even more of the Kinect’s potential. It might give the company an edge against the iPad craze that Apple has started. I do wonder when Microsoft will release the first selection of software for Kinect SKD.

Via Hot Hardware