Kinect for windows Features
Kinect has changed the way people play games and experience entertainment. Now, Kinect for Windows offers the potential to transform how people interact with computers and Windows-embedded devices in multiple industries, including education, healthcare, retail, transportation, and beyond.
The Kinect for Windows sensor and software development kit (SDK) open up the limitless possibilities offered by Kinect technology. Together, they offer a superior development platform for Windows and a high quality end-user experience.
View the technical details for the sensor and SDK
The Kinect for Windows hardware is available through a variety of resellers and distributors in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom. Starting in June, hardware can be purchased in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates.
Highlights of May 2012 release
New tools to help speed up developmentKinect Studio provides ability to record and play back Kinect data to test and assess performance of an application. In addition, a Kinect for Windows developer toolkit is available, which includes reusable components, libraries, tools, and samples.
Expanded skeletal trackingSeated skeletal tracking is now available; which facilitates tracking users sitting down or standing up when the lower body is not visible. This mode focuses on tracking the upper body 10 joints (head, shoulders, arms). In addition, Skeletal tracking is now available at near range depth, which allows applications to track users as close as 40 cm to the Kinect sensor. Finally, joint orientation is available to facilitate avatar animation based on skeletal tracking.
Expanded speech recognitionAdded four new languages – French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese – and offer language packs to recognize regional language differences, such as Australian English and Canadian French.
Runtime ImprovementsVarious runtime improvements have been made in this release, including better synchronization between color and depth streams, and improved RGB quality. Face Tracking SDK is available to recognize user facial features (i.e. eyes, nose, and mouth) and direction.
Setup a Kinect Sensor
Learn how to set up a Kinect for Windows sensor, which can be used with applications developed for Kinect for Windows.
View instructions and support 
The Kinect Effect
People everywhere are taking Kinect devices and turning voice and movement into magic. This is what we like to call the "Kinect Effect".
Watch the Video