Kinecting to a Post-Kinect World

This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Channel 9.

Forever Friend of the Gallery, Vangos Pterneas, has some great advice on what to do in a Post-Kinect world.

Kinect is dead! Now what?

BREAKING NEWS! Microsoft has officially killed the Kinect.
Today, Alex Kipman (creator of the Kinect) and Matthew Lapsen (XBOX Marketing) announced that Microsoft will stop manufacturing the Kinect sensor. Source: Co.Design
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What about your existing customers?
Stopping the production of the sensor means that Kinect will be alive for at least one year. If you have already developed Kinect applications, your customers will be able to use them as-is without any compatibility issues. In terms of software, no changes are required.
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Should you dump your current Kinect projects?
No! Kinect for XBOX ONE is not going to end right away. Hardware does not just disappear. Even Kinect for XBOX 360 is still available, 4 years after it was replaced by Kinect v2 and 1 year after it was discontinued.
There are tons of different Kinect projects in a variety of industries:
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Kinect alternatives
Thankfully, the developer community is very active. New companies have emerged and we already have a lot of alternatives to the Kinect. Today, I’m going to present my top choices. Keep in mind that I am only presenting the sensors I have used professionally. If you have another suggestion, feel free to write it in the comments below!
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My choice: Orbbec
As a business owner and Software Engineer, I have to make a choice that covers the business needs of my clients and customers. Even though OpenPose seems to be the future, Orbbec is, by far, the most reliable option right now. Their team has the know-how to deliver exceptional products and services. Orbbec has both the hardware and the software to replace Kinect.
Disclaimer: Josh Blake, co-founder of Orbbec, was the man who nominated me as a Microsoft MVP. I know he’s been doing great work with Orbbec and I would like to see Orbbec taking on Kinect’s market share.
‘Til the next time… keep Kinecting