Kinect v2 sensor for Windows vastly better at skeletal-tracking than its predecessor

Microsoft MVP Josh Blake of InfoStrat demonstrates the difference between Kinect v1 sensor and Kinect v2 sensor for Windows with a performance on how each version of Kinect for WIndows tracks skeletal movements. Blake shows a side-by-side comparison of the Kinect v1 and Kinect v2 sensors and points out how much of an improvement the Kinect v2 sensor is over the Kinect v1 and shows off the newly released SDK 2.0. Blake shows that the Kinect v2 sensor tracks more joints than the Kinect v1 sensor, as well as track more people at once than with the Kinect v1 sensor.

According to the Kinect for Windows Blog, when asked how much the skeletal sensor capabilities benefit the Kinect v2 sensor versus the Kinect v1 sensor, Blake explains:

“It helps improve several different scenarios. The more accurate anatomical precision is particularly useful in health and rehabilitation apps, as well as for controlling virtual avatars more accurately. Before, users had a hard time understanding why the application would respond to two people but not more, or how to get it to switch to a new person. The support for six full skeletons also means that we don’t have to compromise in how many people can interact with an application or experience at once.“

Blake also notes that there are better hand-tracking in the Kinect v2 for Windows and thinks that there are greater possibilities for sign language and other hand gestures, noting that “recognizing the two-finger point pose in addition to the hand open and hand closed poses means we have more options for developing interesting deep interactions.”

Check out the YouTube video below of Josh Blake of InfoStrat demonstrating the skeletal-tracking improvements of the Kinect v2 for Windows.

For more information on Blake’s demonstration, check out the Kinect for Windows Blog in the link below.