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c#kinect-sdkkinect-v2

Using Multiple Kinect v2 on one PC

I'm currently attempting to use multiple Kinect v2.0s as part of my dissertation. I've looked around on the subject and I'm aware of the issue with usb bandwidth so the two Kinects I'm currently using are on different usb controllers.

The issue I'm having is that as part of the GetDefault() function (2.0 SDK) it, as the name suggests, simply gets the default Kinect. Is there a way of either determining which Kinect to 'get' or determining which Kinect is the 'default'? (I know the SDK only allows for one but I'm exploring the idea of having a separate application handling each Kinect).

Thanks in advance for any input.

Solution

  • Using the Microsoft SDK you don't have a chance to use multiple Kinect2 on one PC:

    Sensor Acquisition and Startup
    Kinect for Windows supports one sensor, which is called the default sensor. The KinectSensor Class has static members to help configure the Kinect sensor and access sensor data.

    Kinect API Overview

    We tried similar things, but in the end we settled with a client/server-Solution where additional Kinects are connected to client PCs. But, even here you need to be careful if those Kinects are used in the same room - the sensors might pick up light from the other emitters! (see here e.g.: Interference between multiple Kinects).

    Another thing you need to keep in mind when working on an client/server-solution - the Kinect does not handle Remote Desktop Connections very well:

    Remote Desktop
    If you are accessing the Kinect using Remote Desktop, You must change the remote desktop audio settings to "play on remote machine". If you do not do this, the runtime will not be able to see the audio device, and may disallow connection to the Kinect. (2.0 SDK and Developer Known Issues)

    Another way you could choose, is use OpenKinect, which is supposed to support multiple cameras (here, here, here, ...) but all this seems not so easy to achieve too. Also, during our tests we noticed that the depth values are different when using the official Microsoft SDK or the open source library, since there is a lot of black-box-magic happening in the official SDK.