Chapter 1. An Introduction to Kinect

After completing this chapter, you will:

  • Understand how the Kinect sensor generates data about the world around it

  • Identify the key components of the Kinect sensor and how they work

  • Appreciate how the sensors and the Kinect provide useful signals to a connected computer or console

The Kinect Sensor

UNTIL RECENTLY COMPUTERS HAD A very restricted view of the world around them, and users had very limited ways of communicating with computers. Over the years, computers have acquired cameras and audio inputs, but these have been used mostly for unrecognized input; computers can store and play such content, but it has been very difficult to make computers understand input in these forms.

For example, when people hear a ...

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