Craig Eisler, head of the Kinect for Windows team at Microsoft, has confirmed that Microsoft made a custom version of the Kinect sensor will be released for use in combination with a pc. This reduces the minimum distance to 50cm.
Microsoft recommends for the current Kinect hardware for the Xbox 360, a minimum distance of 1.8 metres of the person or the object to the sensor for a good and accurate functioning. A modification of the firmware of the Kinect pc hardware is it possible to with depth sensor following objects at a minimum distance of 50 centimeters, without loss of accuracy. This so-called ‘Near Mode’mode is the distance to reduce to 40 inches. The accuracy decreases, but this decrease is very gradual.
In addition to modifications to the firmware of the hardware, condensed Microsoft to the usb cable. According to Eisler, this is for the device to reliably function with a large number of pc configurations. Also, the wire with a dongle. Probably meant Eisler a verloopstukje to which a usb device can be connected.
Another request from initial customers of the commercial Kinect for Windows program was to support. Microsoft respond to this request and licensees of the Kinect sdk updates for voice recognition and tracking of persons.
Microsoft wants to continue with his new Kinect Accelator-incubatieproject start-ups to stimulate innovative applications for Kinect. The ten best entries will be able to count on a encouragement of $ 20,000, supplemented by a number of ‘benefits’.