System requirements for the Kinect for Windows SDK
While developing applications for any device using an SDK, compatibility plays a pivotal role. It is really important that your development environment must fulfill the following set of requirements before starting to work with the Kinect for Windows SDK.
Tip
Downloading the example code
You can download the example code files for all Packt books you have purchased from your account at http://www.PacktPub.com. If you purchased this book elsewhere, you can visit http://www.PacktPub.com/support and register to have the files e-mailed directly to you.
Supported operating systems
The Kinect for Windows SDK, as its name suggests, runs only on the Windows operating system. The following are the supported operating systems for development:
- Windows 7
- Windows Embedded 7
- Windows 8
System configuration
The hardware requirements are not as stringent as the software requirements. It can be run on most of the hardware available in the market. The following are the minimum configurations required for development with Kinect for Windows:
- A 32- (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
- Dual core 2.66 GHz or faster processor
- Dedicated USB 2.0 bus
- 2 GB RAM
The Kinect sensor
It goes without saying, you need a Kinect sensor for your development. You can use the Kinect for Windows or the Kinect for Xbox sensor for your development.
Note
Before choosing a sensor for your development, make sure you are clear about the limitations of the Kinect for Xbox sensor over the Kinect for Windows sensor, in terms of features, API supports, and licensing mechanisms. We have already discussed this in the Kinect for Windows versus Kinect for Xbox section in Chapter 1, Understanding the Kinect Device.
By now, you are already familiar with the Kinect for Windows sensor and its different components. The Kinect for Windows sensor comes with an external power supply, which supplies the additional power, and a USB adapter to connect with the system. For the latest updates and availability of the Kinect for Windows sensor, you can refer to http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/site.
If you already have a Kinect sensor with your Xbox gaming console, you may use it for development. Similar to the Kinect for Windows sensor, you will require a separate power supply for the device so that it can power up the motor, camera, IR sensor, and so on.
Note
If you have bought a Kinect sensor with an Xbox as a bundle, you will need to buy the adapter / power supply separately. You can check out the external power supply adapter at http://www.microsoftstore.com. If you have bought only the Kinect for Xbox sensor, you will have everything that is required for a connection with a PC and external power cable.
Development tools and software
The following are the software that are required for development with Kinect SDK:
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express or higher editions of Visual Studio
- Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 or higher
- Kinect for Windows SDK
Kinect for Windows SDK uses the underlying speech capability of a Windows operating system to interact with the Kinect audio system. This will require Microsoft Speech Platform – Server Runtime, the Microsoft Speech Platform SDK, and a language pack to be installed in the system, and these will be installed along with the Kinect for Windows SDK. The system requirements for SDK may change with upcoming releases. Refer to http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/kinectforwindows/ for the latest system requirements.