Since the early days of Kinect, Microsoft’s gesture-driven gaming system, company executives have hinted at other applications for the technology.
Now they’re confirming it. Microsoft said on Monday that it will release a software development kit this spring that will allow developers to build Windows applications using the Kinect interface.
Microsoft explained that the SDK will be limited, at least at first, to academic and other non-commercial applications, though many observers expect that the company could broaden the reach of the platform to business apps.
“It 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,” said Microsoft’s Steve Clayton.
Datamation takes a look at the evolution of Microsoft Kinect.