Kinect-Enabled Laptops In The Works

Kinect has received arguably more attention online from some of the clever "hacks" PC developers have made, and Microsoft were quick to offer an official SDK for development of PC Kinect software. But not everyone has the room to put a big Kinect sensor next to their monitor, and it makes even less sense for portable computers, a huge market for their upcoming Windows 8 OS.

A source at Microsoft has confirmed to The Daily that Microsoft are going to allow Kinect hardware to be built directly into devices, with two Asus netbook prototypes spotted featuring an array of sensors above the screen where a webcam would typically sit, as well as LED's below the display. The Daily also notes that Microsoft will likely licence the Kinect technology to hardware manufactures, as it does with Windows software currently, rather than make them in-house.


As the Kinect hacks show, there is clearly a lot to be done with Kinect in this space, and it is far from restricted to gaming. With the Windows 8 beta launching next month, as well as the Windows Store, could we see our first officially released Kinect for PC software? It's clearly heading that way, and with rumors of Kinect enabled TV's and set-top boxes coming in the near future, Microsoft is betting big on the technology.

Posted in: Kinect,laptop,pc,sdk,windows 8