Gesture control in Unity via Kinect for Windows

Are you developing a Unity app and wish you could easily add gesture control? Well, just like Glinda from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Kristina Rothe can grant you your wish. However, Kristina, a game development evangelist at Microsoft Germany, uses a video camera instead of a wand, and her magic lies in this detailed video:

Follow Kristina’s video tutorial and you’ll be on your way to creating Kinect-enabled gesture controls for your Unity app—or interactive games. You won’t even need to click your heels three times (though you can if you want to). What you will need is the latest Kinect sensor, the free Kinect for Windows software development kit (SDK 2.0), and the free Kinect plug-in for Unity. Plus, of course, Unity 5, and as Kristina notes in her video, you don’t have to pay for the Professional Edition of Unity 5, as the free Personal Edition provides the necessary engine capabilities.

Once you have the hardware and software, Kristina’s tutorial will take you through each step in the process of creating and adding gesture control to a Unity project. Her patient and detailed explanations will be a wish-come-true for anyone eager to build a gesture-controlled interactive app.

Remember, “there’s no place like home”—and as long as that home includes the latest Kinect sensor and Unity 5, it will be a happily interactive one indeed.

The Kinect for Windows Team

Key links

Comments

  • Anonymous
    May 22, 2016
    HI, Can i use sdk1.8? i am currently using kinect 360 sensor
    • Anonymous
      June 01, 2016
      Thank you for your interest in Kinect for Windows. The SDK 1.8 wasn't designed to work with the Xbox 360. We recommend that developers use the current Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0 along with the Kinect for Xbox One sensor and Kinect Adapter for Windows. The adapter enables you to connect a Kinect for Xbox One sensor to Windows 8.0, 8.1, and 10 PCs and tablets. Check out your local Microsoft Store for hardware availability in your locale: http://www.microsoftstore.com Download the Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=44561 Learn more about developing with Kinect: https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/kinectIf you have additional technical questions about developing with Kinect for Windows, visit our public Kinect for Windows v2 SDK forum, where you can exchange ideas with the Kinect community and Microsoft engineers. You can browse existing topics or ask a new question by clicking the "Ask a question" button on the forum webpage. Access the forum at http://aka.ms/k4wv2forum.
  • Anonymous
    July 11, 2016
    Hello,I'm having a problem. When i try to run the MainScene an error message appears to me. The message is: "DllNotFoundException: Assets/Plugins/x86_64/KinectUnityAddin.dll" what do i do?
    • Anonymous
      August 19, 2016
      Thanks for your interest. For technical questions, please visit the public Kinect for Windows v2 SDK forum, where developers exchange ideas with the Kinect community and Microsoft engineers. You can browse existing topics or ask a new question by clicking the Ask a question button on the forum webpage: http://aka.ms/k4wv2forum.
  • Anonymous
    July 12, 2016
    The comment has been removed
    • Anonymous
      August 19, 2016
      Thanks for your interest. For technical questions, please visit the public Kinect for Windows v2 SDK forum, where developers exchange ideas with the Kinect community and Microsoft engineers. You can browse existing topics or ask a new question by clicking the Ask a question button on the forum webpage: http://aka.ms/k4wv2forum.
    • Anonymous
      September 20, 2016
      Hi there,Did you manage to get it to work yet? I am very curious about that :) I found some responses on twitter, from the windows developer account, to be fairly helpful. Unfortunately I don't currently have access to a Kinect anymore, but they said that the input methods on Xbox One uwp apps are a bit different:https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/apps/xaml/windows.media.capture.frames.aspxThis, however, does not specifically relate to Unity, but that discussion is ongoing :)
      • Anonymous
        September 20, 2016
        Also - did you get it to work properly as Windows Desktop UWP first? I.e. Does it compile and work without error on your computer?
  • Anonymous
    August 28, 2016
    Hi.can i connect kinect (xbox 360) sdk v1.8 with unity?