While Kinect is mainly associated with Xbox gaming console as it was first introduced for Xbox 360, the device has been adopted by numerous developers out there as a mean to include motion sensing capability into their apps. As Microsoft has introduced new Kinect sensor with Xbox One and subsequently offers it to developer in the form of Kinect for Windows v2, it is not surprising that the company will be phasing out the original Kinect for Windows very soon.
Introduced in July this year, the Kinect for Windows v2 sensor (shown below) brings together quite a number of improvement in terms of better body tracking, field of view and depth fidelity as well as full 1080p video and new active infrared capabilities. Later in October, Microsoft further released the Kinect Adapter for Windows to enable developers to connect Kinect for Xbox One to their computer as well as new SDK to allow developers to not only take advantage of the new sensor but also publish their Kinect apps to Windows Store.
All in all, the shift of focus from the original Kinect sensor to the new Kinect for Windows v2 is rather inevitable given the improved capabilities that the new sensor is able to provide. However, Microsoft didn’t specify any exact date in its announcement but it was stated that “no more original sensors will be manufactured after the current stock sells out”.
Hence, if Kinect for Windows sensor is essential for your app, you might want to start looking for the device before it goes out of sale or consider porting your app to support the new Kinect for Windows v2 sensor instead.
[Source: Kinect for Windows]
