Kinect for Windows SDK Now Plays Nice with Windows 8

Next-generation Kinect NUI (natural user interface) experiences can now be built not only for Windows 7 computers, but also for machines running Windows 8.

Well, the Developer Preview of Windows 8, Build 8102 Milestone 3 (M3), was released in mid-September 2011 at BUILD.

Along with Windows 7, Windows 8 Developer Preview (September 2011 Build) is listed among the supported operating systems for the just-launched Kinect for Windows SDK v1.0 Beta 2.

“The Microsoft Kinect for Windows SDK provides the native and managed APIs and the tools you need to develop Kinect enabled applications for Windows. Applications that are built using the Kinect SDK can currently run on Windows 7 computers and the September 2011 build of the Windows 8 Developer Preview,” the Redmond company notes.

“Developing Kinect enabled applications is essentially the same as developing other Windows applications, except that this SDK provides support for the features of the Kinect sensor (color images, depth images, audio, skeletal data, etc.).”

Kinect for Windows SDK 1.0 Beta 2 was released earlier today, with Microsoft celebrating the one-year anniversary since the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360.

In addition to the application programming interfaces, the SDK packs a number of code samples as well as the drivers necessary for devs to start building new Kinect experiences for Windows.

The kit “gives Kinect for Windows developers easy access to the capabilities offered by the Microsoft Kinect device. This SDK is designed for non-commercial purposes only; a commercial version will be available at a later date,” the software giant reveals.

“It includes drivers, rich APIs for raw sensor streams and human motion tracking, installation documents, and resource materials. It provides Kinect capabilities to developers who build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010.”

Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 Milestone 3 (M3) is available for download here.