The Xbox Kinect is a device the has the ability to change how we interact with not just the Xbox, but technology as a whole. The Kinect hacking scene has shown a glimpse of the possibilities for the platform and Microsoft took notice early on to the homebrew scene.
Because of all the extra attention the Kinect device has received outside of use for the Xbox 360, Microsoft has made an SDK available for the device for Windows. Microsoft states:
The Kinect for Windows SDK beta is a starter kit for applications developers that includes APIs, sample code, and drivers. This SDK enables the academic research and enthusiast communities to create rich experiences by using Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect sensor technology on computers running Windows 7.
The SDK can be downloaded now from the Microsoft research page. The SDK comes in two flavors, 32-bit and 64-bit, each flavors weighs in at a little over 20MB.
With an official SDK now available to the general public, the possibilities for the new platform are limitless. This SDK opens the door to many developers and the possibilities for the new platform are not only exciting, but potentially revolutionary.
Download: Kinect SDK 32-bit
Download: Kinect SDK 64-bit