CATEGORIES:
BiologyChemistryConstructionCultureEcologyEconomyElectronicsFinanceGeographyHistoryInformaticsLawMathematicsMechanicsMedicineOtherPedagogyPhilosophyPhysicsPolicyPsychologySociologySportTourism
Kinect for Windows SDKHistory Kinect was first announced on June 1, 2009 at E3 2009 under the code name "Project Natal". Following in Microsoft's tradition of using cities as code names,[9] "Project Natal" was named after the Brazilian city of Natal as a tribute to the country by Brazilian-born Microsoft director Alex Kipman, who incubated the project.[9][47] The name Natal was also chosen because the word natal means "of or relating to birth", reflecting Microsoft's view of the project as "the birth of the next generation of home entertainment".[37] Three demos were shown to showcase Kinect when it was revealed at Microsoft's E3 2009 Media Briefing: Ricochet, Paint Party and Milo & Kate.[48] A demo based on Burnout Paradise was also shown outside of Microsoft's media briefing.[49] The skeletal mapping technology shown at E3 2009 was capable of simultaneously tracking four people,[35][37][40][47] with a feature extraction of 48 skeletal points on a human body at 30 Hz.[36][47] It was rumored that the launch of Project Natal would be accompanied with the release of a new Xbox 360 console (as either a new retail configuration,[50][51] a significant design revision[52] and/or a modest hardware upgrade[53]). Microsoft dismissed the reports in public and repeatedly emphasized that Project Natal would be fully compatible with all Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft indicated that the company considers it to be a significant initiative, as fundamental to the Xbox brand as Xbox Live,[54] and with a launch akin to that of a new Xbox console platform.[55] Kinect was even referred to as a "new Xbox" by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at a speech for the Executives' Club of Chicago.[56][57] When asked if the introduction will extend the time before the next-generation console platform is launched (historically about 5 years between platforms),[58] Microsoft corporate vice president Shane Kim reaffirmed that the company believes that the life cycle of the Xbox 360 will last through 2015 (10 years).[37] During Kinect's development, project team members experimentally adapted numerous games to Kinect-based control schemes to help evaluate usability. Among these games were Beautiful Katamari and Space Invaders Extreme, which were demonstrated at the Tokyo Game Show in September 2009.[59] According to creative director Kudo Tsunoda, adding Kinect-based control to pre-existing games would involve significant code alterations, making it unlikely for Kinect features to be added through software updates.[60] Although the sensor unit was originally planned to contain a microprocessor that would perform operations such as the system's skeletal mapping, it was revealed in January 2010 that the sensor would no longer feature a dedicated processor. Instead, processing would be handled by one of the processor cores of the Xbox 360's Xenon CPU.[61] According to Alex Kipman, the Kinect system consumes about 10-15% of the Xbox 360's computing resources.[62] However, in November, Alex Kipman made a statement that "the new motion control tech now only uses a single-digit percentage of the Xbox 360's processing power, down from the previously stated 10 to 15 percent."[63] A number of observers commented that the computational load required for Kinect makes the addition of Kinect functionality to pre-existing games through software updates even less likely, with concepts specific to Kinect more likely to be the focus for developers using the platform.[61] On March 25, Microsoft sent out a save the date flier for an event called the "World Premiere 'Project Natal' for the Xbox 360 Experience" at E3 2010. The event took place on the evening of Sunday, June 13, 2010 at the Galen Center[64] and featured a performance by Cirque du Soleil. It was announced that the system would officially be called Kinect, a portmanteau of the words "kinetic" and "connect", which describe key aspects of the initiative.[65] Microsoft also announced that the North American launch date for Kinect will be November 4, 2010.[66] Despite previous statements dismissing speculation of a new Xbox 360 to accompany the launch of the new control system, Microsoft announced at E3 2010 that it was introducing a redesigned Xbox 360, complete with a connector port ready for Kinect. In addition, on July 20, 2010, Microsoft announced a Kinect bundle with a redesigned Xbox 360, to be available with the Kinect launch.[17] On June 16, 2011, Microsoft announced its official release of its SDK for non-commercial use.[67][68] On July 21, 2011, Microsoft announced that the first ever white Kinect sensor would be available as part of the "Xbox 360 Limited Edition Kinect Star Wars Bundle", which also includes custom a Star Wars-themed console and controller, and copies of Kinect Adventures and Star Wars Kinect.[69] Previously, all Kinect sensors had been glossy black. On October 31, 2011, Microsoft announced launching of the commercial version of Kinect for Windows program with release of the SDK to companies. David Dennis, Product Manager at Microsoft, said, "There are hundreds of organizations we are working with to help them determine what's possible with the tech". [70] Launch A January 2010 promotional banner indicating the expected release of Kinect (then "Project Natal") by holiday 2010 Microsoft had an advertising budget of US$500 million for the launch of Kinect, a larger sum than the investment at launch of the Xbox console.[71] The marketing campaign You Are the Controller, aiming to reach new audiences, included advertisements on Kellogg's cereal boxes and Pepsi bottles, commercials during shows such as Dancing with the Stars and Glee as well as print ads in various magazines such as People and InStyle.[72] On October 19, Microsoft advertised Kinect on The Oprah Winfrey Show by giving free Xbox 360 consoles and Kinect sensors to the people in the audience.[73] Two weeks later, Kinect bundles with Xbox 360 consoles were also given away to the audience of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.[74] On October 23, Microsoft held a pre-launch party for Kinect in Beverly Hills. The party was hosted by Ashley Tisdale and was attended by soccer star David Beckham and his three sons, Cruz, Brooklyn, and Romeo. Guests were treated to sessions with Dance Central and Kinect Adventures, followed by Tisdale having a Kinect voice chat with Nick Cannon.[75] Between November 1 and November 28, Burger King gave away a free Kinect bundle "every 15 minutes".[76] A major event was organized on November 3 in Times Square, where singer Ne-Yo performed with hundreds of dancers in anticipation of Kinect's midnight launch.[77] During the festivities, Microsoft gave away T-shirts and Kinect games.[78] Software See also: List of Kinect games Requiring at least 190 MB of available storage space,[79] the Kinect system software allows users to operate the Xbox 360 Dashboard console user interface through voice commands and hand gestures. Techniques such as voice recognition and facial recognition are employed to automatically identify users. Among the applications for Kinect is Video Kinect, which enables voice chat or video chat with other Xbox 360 users or users of Windows Live Messenger. The application can use Kinect's tracking functionality and the Kinect sensor's motorized pivot to keep users in frame even as they move around. Other applications with Kinect support include ESPN, Zune Marketplace,[79] Netflix, Hulu Plus[80] and Last.fm[81] Games that require Kinect have a purple sticker on them with a white silhouette of the Kinect sensor and "Requires Kinect Sensor" underneath in white text.[82] Games that have optional Kinect support (meaning that Kinect is not necessary to play the game or that there are optional Kinect minigames included) feature a standard green Xbox 360 case with a purple bar underneath the header, a silhouette of the Kinect sensor and "Better with Kinect Sensor" next to it in white text.[82] Kinect launched on November 4, 2010 with 17 titles.[83] Third-party publishers of available and announced Kinect games include, among others, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, LucasArts, THQ, Activision, Konami, Sega, Capcom, Namco Bandai and MTV Games. Kinect Fun Labs At E3 2011, Microsoft announced Kinect Fun Labs: a collection of various gadgets (mini games). These gadgets includes Build A Buddy, Air Band, Kinect Googly Eyes, Kinect Me, Bobblehead, Kinect Sparkler and Avatar Kinect.[84][85][86] Kinect for Windows SDK On February 21, 2011 Microsoft announced that it would release a non-commercial Kinect software development kit (SDK) for Windows in spring 2011, which was released on June 16, 2011; a commercial version is planned for a later release date.[22][23][24] The SDK includes Windows 7 compatible PC drivers for Kinect device. It provides Kinect capabilities to developers to build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 and includes following features:
Date: 2016-06-12; view: 115
|