Microsoft has confirmed that their interactive motion controller Kinect is coming for PC’s, in a move that is designed to prevent hacking.Speaking at the company’s TechForum in the USA, Microsoft confirmed plans for official Kinect support on PCs.
Don Mattrick the head of Interactive entertainment promised that the motion controller add-on will get an SDK to write support into Windows apps sometime in April.
The approach would let apps use the Kinect’s detection without having to create hacks.
Electronista said that the company briefly tried to quash unofficial use of the Kinect on computers before it began embracing it and going to the point of claiming it had been built to work that way from the beginning. CEO Steve Ballmer had already promised an official release but hadn’t specified a time before now.
The release of the SDK will allow for custom PC applications using the motion-sensing and voice recognition technology inside the Kinect sensor.
“We think we’re going to see a huge explosion in interest,” said Craig Mundie, the company’s chief research and strategy officer. “We welcome that and will support it.”
The SDK will be available initially this spring for non-commercial use, but the company plans to ultimately make the technology allowable for use in commercial applications. The SDK will allow academics and hobbyists to deal with the sensor at a “higher level” than the informal Kinect hacks that emerged after the device was introduced for Xbox 360.
When those hacks originally emerged, Microsoft at first called the use unsupported and encouraged people “to use Kinect for Xbox 360 with their Xbox 360 to get the best experience possible.” Later, Microsoft changed course and said it encouraged creative uses of the device.
Said Mattrick during the briefing today, “This seemed like a great way to build on the momentum, intellect and creativity of that community.”
