In a press release posted on the Kinect for Windows blog, Microsoft's Kinect for Windows team announced that the company will begin to phase out the production and sale of Kinect for Windows 1.0 sensor this year.
The phasing out of Kinect 1.0 is due to the fact that back in October, Microsoft's public release for the Kinect for Windows 2.0 sensor, along with the device's software development kit, or SDK, started.
According to the press release, Kinect 2.0 includes several new features and improvements on previous ones. Examples of the upgrades include better body tracking capabilities, better depth fidelity, full 1080p video in high-definition, new capabilities for active infrared and a wider field of view.
In addition, SDK 2.0 also provides several enhancements and updates, including the ability for developers to develop and eventually publish Kinect-based apps for downloading at the Windows Store. This is made possible by the Kinect Adapter for Windows, which was unveiled by Microsoft simultaneously with the release of Kinect 2.0 and SDK 2.0. The Kinect Adapter allows developers to create applications for Kinect for Windows by utilizing a Kinect for Xbox One sensor.
Microsoft applauded the amazing response by developers to Kinect 2.0, with "amazing apps" being developed based on the new sensor and its SDK. Developers have also informed Microsoft that since the release of SDK 2.0's public beta back in July, porting apps from Kinect 1.0 to Kinect 2.0 has been smooth and fast.
Microsoft said that Kinect for Windows 1.0 was "a milestone achievement in the world of natural human computing," as the device allowed for the development of solutions that have gone beyond the traditional keyboard and mouse inputs. This in turn opened up new commercial avenues in several industries, including education, manufacturing, retail and healthcare. Examples of innovations made possible by the original Kinect include allowing preschoolers to play with educational games through arm movements, giving shoppers new methods of engaging with merchandise such as trying on clothes virtually, and coaching patients undergoing physical rehabilitation.
The press release added that business customers that have commitments for Kinect 1.0 and its SDK and would require a significant number of the devices, should contact the Kinect for Windows team immediately to have their orders completed, because once the current stock of the original sensors sells out, no more will be made.
One of Microsoft's recently announced projects that utilize the Kinect sensor is the Room Alive system, an extension of the company's IllumiRoom project that uses the Kinect sensor to paint rooms with a variety of colors and uses several projectors to design spaces.
