Getting started with the Microsoft Kinect (PrimeSense) 3D range-sensing camera

The Microsoft Kinect 3D range-sensing camera based on the PrimeSense technology is an interesting piece of equipment that enables the estimation of the 3D geometry of a scene through depth-sensing using light patterns. The 3D sensor has an active infrared laser projector, which emits encoded speckle light patterns. The sensors allow users to capture color images and provide a 3D depth map at a resolution of 640 x 480. Since the Kinect sensor is an active sensor, it is invariant to indoor lighting condition (that is, it even works in the dark) and enables many applications, such as gesture and pose tracking as well as 3D scanning and reconstruction.

In this section, we will demonstrate how to set up this type of range-sensing camera, as an example. While we do not require readers to purchase a 3D range-sensing camera for this chapter (since we will provide the raw data captured on this device for the purpose of...