Kinect for Windows 1.5 adds 'seated' tracking
updated 02:30 pm EDT, Tue March 27, 2012
Kinect for Windows 1.5 coming late in May
Microsoft has just revealed that the 1.5 release of its Kinect for Windows software is coming at the end of May. The most significant change will include what Microsoft calls "seated," or 10-joint skeletal tracking that will give the Kinect cameras the ability to track the arms, head, and neck of a user. This will work both in the near mode for seating as well as the regular, standing mode.
Developers will get a new Kinect Studio app, which will let them record, play back, and debug clips of users interacting with their Kinect apps to pinpoint trouble spots or user habits.
Newly supported languages in the release are French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. New language packs will isolate regions for English in Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, while French in France and Canada will be added as well. Spanish language support covers both Spain and Mexico.
The next few months will see Kinect for Windows come to 19 more countries and regions, Microsoft said. Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan will get it late in May, while Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates are due to get it in June.
