Chapter 1. A bit of background

The development of a motion-sensing input device by Microsoft was first announced under the code name Project Natal on June 1, 2009, at the E3 2009. Kinect was launched in November 2010 and quickly became the fastest selling consumer electronics device according to Guinness World Records.

On June 16, 2011, Microsoft announced the release of the Kinect for Windows Software Development Kit (SDK). Early in 2012, Microsoft shipped the commercial version of the SDK, allowing developers all around the world to use the power of the Kinect sensor in their own applications. A few months later, in June 2012, Microsoft shipped Kinect SDK 1.5, and that version is used in this book.

The sensor

Think of the Kinect sensor as a 3D ...

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