Kinect For Windows Hardware And SDK v1.0 Released, Ships Today

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Microsoft has released Kinect for Windows Software development kit and its now out with fully supported 1.0 version of SDK and runtime bringing motion sensing from the the Xbox 360 to the desktop. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer previously promised  that Kinect for Windows would go official on February 1st during his CES keynote last month, and the company delivered the final bits to developers this morning. The final release adds support for up to four Kinect sensors on one PC, “near mode” functionality for the Kinect for Windows hardware, and the usual fixes and API improvements.

While the software supports up to four bars plugged into a single computer and delivers “significantly improved skeletel tracking” than the earlier beta version. The sensor bar is priced as $249 – with educational discount of $100 in the pipeline.

Microsoft says its Kinect for Windows hardware is shipping today in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain and United Kingdom.

The new “near mode” feature, unique to Kinect for Windows, that allows the depth camera to see objects as close as 50cm away “without losing accuracy or precision.” and the v.11 Microsoft Speech components baked into the SDK and runtime installer, potentially enabling the “log me in” speech and face recognition tipped in the latest leak. Microsoft says it will introduce special academic pricing of $149 for Qualified Educational Users later this year.

The Kinect for Windows sensor is available to order now, priced at $249.99.