How to use Kinect v2 on Windows

Kinect v2 is the Kinect for Windows device, that is similar to the Kinect that ships with Xbox One. This post is about this device and not the Kinect that you get with Xbox One. If you bought an Xbox One, you need to buy a Kinect Adapter for Windows to be able to connect that Kinect to your computer.

My notes on using and programming this device:

• Make sure your computer meets the specifications required by Kinect v2, as listed here. Take special note: it requires a computer with USB 3.0 port and Windows 8 or 10.

• Connect the Kinect v2 to the USB 3.0 port of your computer and to the power supply.

• Download and install the Kinect Configuration Verifier. Run the tool. It should be able to detect the Kinect v2 and be able to read the color and depth streams. Else please see its error to find what configuration of your computer is causing a problem.

• Download and install the Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0.

• Run the Kinect Studio v2.0 and check if it can display color and depth streams from your device. Note that you need to manually click the Connect option in this tool to enable use of the Kinect.

• Open the SDK Browser v2.0 (Kinect for Windows) tool. Here you can see C++ and C# code examples, install those Visual Studio solutions, compile and run them.

• Refer to the Kinect For Windows SDK 2.0 documentation online at MSDN here. For example, the C++ API reference is here.

• Write your own programs using the code samples from the SDK Browser and the documentation from MSDN.

• For C++, note that the include header is Kinect.h, the include directory is $(KINECTSDK20_DIR)\inc, the library directory is $(KINECTSDK20_DIR)\Lib\x64 and the library file is Kinect20.lib.

• To get started, I have shared the C++ code and CMake build setup for a simple program that reads the depth and color frames of Kinect v2 and displays them using OpenCV here.

Have fun with your Kinect v2! 😊

Tried with: Visual Studio 2013 and Windows 10 x64