Kinect in Motion - Audio and Visual Tracking by Example

A fast-paced, practical guide including examples, clear instructions, and details for building your own multimodal user interface

Overview

• Step-by-step examples on how to master the essential features of Kinect technology
• Fully-functioning code samples ready to expand and adjust to your need
• Compact and handy reference on how to adopt a multimodal user interface in your application

In Detail

Kinect is a motion-sensing input device by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game console and Windows PCs. It provides capabilities to enhance human-machine interaction along with a zero-to-hero journey to engage the user in a multimodal interface dialog with your software solution.

Kinect in Motion - Audio and Visual Tracking by Example guides you in developing more than five models you can use to capture gestures, movements, and voice spoken commands. The examples and the theory discussed provide you with the knowledge to let the user become a part of your application.

Kinect in Motion - Audio and Visual Tracking by Example is a compact reference on how to master color, depth, skeleton, and audio data streams handled by Kinect for Windows.Starting with an introduction to Kinect and its characteristics, you will first be shown how to master the color data stream with no more than one page of lines of code. Learn how to manage the depth information and map them against the color ones. You will then learn how to define and manage gestures that enable the user to instruct the application simply by moving arms or any other type of natural action. Finally you will complete your journey through a multimodal interface, combining gestures with audio.The book will lead you through many detailed, real-world examples, and even guide you on how to test your application.

What you will learn from this book

• Tune the captured color data stream to adjust the output to the environmental condition
• Detect simple actions, such as arm movement, to raise events in your application
• Debug and test your application to increase the quality of the software delivered
• Track users wherever they are seated or standing so that your application can interact with the users
• Capture sounds to convert the vocal input into application commands
• Adjust the Kinect angle programmatically to optimize the view angle according to the user position and the environment characteristics

Approach

The book includes a series of step-by-step illustrated tutorials supported by detailed explanations for building a multimodal user interface based on Kinect for Windows.

Who this book is written for

Kinect in Motion - Audio and Visual Tracking by Example is great for developers new to the Kinect for Windows SDK, and who are looking to get a good grounding in how to master video and audio tracking. It's assumed that you have some experience in C# and XAML already.

Clemente Giorio

Clemente Giorio is an independent Consultant; he cooperated with Microsoft SrL for the development of a prototype that uses the Kinect sensor. He is interested in Human-computer Interface (HCI) and multimodal interaction.

Massimo Fascinari

Massimo Fascinari is a solution architect at Avanade, where he designs and delivers software development solutions to companies throughout UK and Ireland. His interest in Kinect and human machine interaction started during his research on increasing the usability and adoption of collaboration solutions.