Multiple Kinects – how to reduce interference

When we talk about multiple Kinects, the first question that comes to our mind is interference. We know that Kinect measures the depth data by reading the IR patterns projected by an IR emitter. When there are multiple sensors placed in the same area the projected IR from the multiple sensors can interfere with one another. In such scenarios, Kinect sensors will return incorrect data, that is, X, Y, and Z values for interference affect the IR dots.

Note

Why can't Kinect distinguish its own projected IR from the IR projected by other sensors? This could have fixed the interference issue. The answer to this is that the IR laser is not modulated.

You can think of some examples of technology that can modulate the individual patterns coming from each Kinect. Based on the pattern sensor, you can identify its corresponding "dot". However, no support for this exists in Kinect SDK.

When there are multiple Kinects, the IR from each of them can interfere with...