Kinect dev tools released

Microsoft has previously condoned hobbyists and academics using its Kinect motion-sensing camera peripheral for their own non-gaming uses, but now the company is actively facilitating such tinkering. Microsoft this week released the beta version of its Kinect non-commercial software development kit (SDK).

The Kinect SDK includes drivers for using the camera with Windows-based PCs, as well as source code samples, including a simple game where users interact with shapes falling from the top of the screen. Using voice commands, players can change the size, speed, color, and shape of the falling objects.

Enthusiasts have been making their own Kinect projects since the peripheral debuted in stores last November. Within weeks, Kinect was being implemented into a variety of unauthorized purposes, from assisting surgery to helping a robotic vacuum and making sex games.

For more on the SDK or to download it, check out Microsoft's official website.