PrimeSense releases open-source drivers for Kinect technology
Company hopes to promote use of Natural Interaction devices cross-platform
PrimeSense, the company which developed the technology behind Microsoft's Kinect sensor, has released open-source drivers for the camera used in the device and founded an organisation dedicated to the promotion of Natural Interaction devices.
OpenNI, the organisation founded by PrimeSense, has released OpenNI Framework – an open source development kit which includes an API designed to program for the use of Natural Interaction devices.
Middleware included in the package allows users to develop software both for the camera used in Kinect and PrimeSense's own PDSK 5.0 unit, Next-Gen.biz reports.
Kinect was hacked into performing any number of interesting different tasks shortly after it was released, with a group of MIT alumni offering prize money for the first team to demonstrate a successful hack.
It's thought that the plethora of applications which various hacks have opened up for Kinect have accelerated the release of the open-source material, which PrimeSense had always said it would make available.