Get up and running building creative application in Processing that use the Microsoft Kinect depth camera to track users.

Goals:

  • Learn the history of the Kinect and the principles behind how it works as a depth camera
  • Survey the landscape of tools, drivers, and frameworks that are available for working with the Kinect and doing skeleton tracking based on its data
  • Install the software necessary to work with the skeleton data in Processing
  • Understand the calibration process, how it works, and why it’s necessary
  • Learn how to access user joint positions
  • Understand the difference between real world and screen coordinate systems and how to translate between the two
  • Learn the basics of vector math required to measure joint position and relative distance
  • Explore tools for using joint position and relative distance in user interfaces and creative tools
  • Have a conversation about the possibilities, limitations, and meaning of this kind of interaction

Pre-requisites:

  • Beginner level graphical programming knowledge
  • Basic familiarity with Processing or other similar creative coding frameworks (class will be taught in Processing)
  • Bring a Kinect (a few will be on hand to borrow, but you’ll get more out of it if you bring your own)