Xbox Kinect being developed for PC

The Israeli company Primesense, that developed the hi-tech motion sensor chips found in the Xbox 360 peripheral Kinect, is selling a version of the device called the Primesensor that works with personal computers, as well as releasing the accompanying software as an open-source project, which means that anyone can develop for the device on any platform.

The Kinect uses full-body recognition software to allow certain games and media on the Xbox to be controlled using only gestures, rather than a controller.

Amateur hackers have already cracked the Xbox version's source code, applying the device to both time-saving personal development projects and intuitive motion-based gameplay, including a program that changes any long object held by the player into a lightsaber from the Star Wars films.

Primesense founder Tamir Berliner said that “it will all be open source so you can take it and port it to any device... when we founded the company we set out to change the computer gaming industry with movement games but we did not have the Wii to prove us right... now we see that computer games are just the start.”

The company has also opened an online application store to accompany the device, and developers have already released projects for sale, including computer hardware manufacturer Asus, with a program that uses two of the Primesensor devices to allow users to stream and control media from the PC to the television without the use of a controller.

Other applications released include a picture gallery with gesture-based picture control, and several basic games.