Kinect Orchestra! – Made using Kinect SDK Beta 2!

Backward Compatibility with previous applications and BETA 2

So the Kinect SDK Beta 2 was released this week and I had mixed emotions. Part of me wanted to scream for joy but the other part had me thinking… oh dear mother of god! Will all the applications work now that I’ve upgraded my system… Thankfully YES THEY DO!!

If you’re a teacher already using some of the applications featured on here. Do not worry! You can uninstall the previous SDK and upgrade to the new one and they will continue to run .

Orchestra Application

A few months back after speaking to Gareth Ritter (@ritzertech) we got talking about how applications could be modified for other lessons. I have been working a lot with Gareth as we both share a keen passion for working with the Kinect in lessons. After developing a Kinect spelling test for my lessons and a Kinect Quiz,I learnt that students were really getting engaged in these applications. The idea was simple but the students were drew to it like a flock of seagulls! You will notice in some of my previous posts the engagement from the students.

After the initial discussions we talked about modifying the Kinect Quiz so that it could have sounds playing for different instruments. This is still in working progress and something you can come back to see at a later date, however I managed to make a simple application which changes the cursor when you hover over instruments. The idea is much like the digestive system I made earlier. You hover over the correct answer and if it’s correct the black box turns clear. It could be modified further by going into the code and changing the sound to the sound of the instrument if it’s correct! The possibilities are endless!

I hope to make more apps and I’m open to ideas! At the moment I’m looking into getting two Kinects running at the same time and I’m also looking at the possibility of having 6 pictures you can pick from with your voice and manipulating them! Might be useful for discussions with groups about what is happening.

Check out the video below to see it working and follow the links to download it from my SkyDrive.

Application (Stand Alone Run) or Source Code (So you can try and modify it)

Kinect Orchestra

Please check back soon for some simple user guides to programming your first Kinect SDK program! I will hopefully show you how to make an application like the one above! Obviously the Kinect can do so much more, however they’re simple apps that get the kids out of their seats. I’m not a music teacher by trade, I’m an ICT teacher and if there is anything useful that I can do for other teachers I’m open minded!

If you would like to feature any of the applications from my blog, please contact me. I would like to see how they’re helping others and would like to know other successes.