Kinect

Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices developed by Microsoft for Xbox game consoles and Windows-based PCs. The devices integrate a depth sensor, an RGB camera, and a multi-microphone array to enable features such as gesture recognition, body tracking, and voice commands, allowing hands-free interaction with games and applications.

The first generation, Kinect for Xbox 360, was announced in 2009 and released in 2010. It uses a structured-light depth sensor to perceive the surrounding scene, with a VGA-resolution RGB camera and a 320-by-240 depth stream. Its skeletal tracking could map up to 20 joints in real time, while the microphone array supported voice commands and speech recognition. Microsoft also released Kinect for Windows to enable PC-based development using the same hardware and software stack.

Kinect v2, designed for the Xbox One and Windows, arrived in 2013 for Xbox One and 2014 for Windows. It features a time-of-flight depth sensor, a higher-resolution RGB camera (up to 1080p), and improved skeletal tracking with support for more joints. The new sensor provides a larger field of view and enhanced audio capture, but requires USB 3.0 and external power, and it is not backward compatible with the original Kinect hardware.

Microsoft gradually reduced consumer emphasis on the Kinect line, discontinuing production of the Xbox Kinect hardware in 2017. Windows-focused development continued briefly, and in 2020 Microsoft introduced Azure Kinect DK as a newer developer kit that emphasizes enterprise and research use, delivering advanced depth sensing and integration with Azure cloud services.

Kinect technology has found applications beyond gaming in fields such as research, robotics, rehabilitation, accessibility, and interactive installations, owing to its combined depth, color, and audio sensing capabilities.