Microsoft just announced it will open up the use of its Kinect software development kit (SDK) for commercial applications, reports WinRumors.
In June the company originally brought the accessory outside the consumer realm by encouraging academic research and enthusiast communities to create new ways of using the sensor, which lets people play video games using just their bodies, as well as pause and fast-forward TV and movies using a mix of hand movements and voice control. Since then, Microsoft has been working with more than 200 companies across 25 industries during a pilot of the commercial Kinect SDK.
One Microsoft executive said there will be a number of “killer apps” within different fields. For instance, Spanish tech group Tedesys has created an application to allow surgeons to page through a patient’s records during an operation.
Microsoft’s Kinect, which allows for full body 3D motion capture, facial recognition and voice recognition, was launched nearly a year ago and was named the fastest-selling consumer electronics device by Guinness World Records.
Read more at WinRumors.
