Buying a second-hand Kinect is a cheap option to get a 3D scanning capable device. Though it is not designed specifically for that purpose it can, using the right application, create a 3D model of an object, a room or a person.
I’ve tried several times to install the XBOX 360 Kinect to my Windows PC with no success, but finally, I’ve made it work.
There is a Windows version of Kinect. It costs about 155€ and I guess it is easier to install on a PC, but I had no intention to expend that money while there are second-hand units for about 20€. A friend of mine bought one for 6€!
What do you need to connect the Xbox device to Windows? You need an adapter that you can order to Amazon and it costs only 12€.
The converter just feeds with some extra current to our Xbox Kinect and also adapts the Xbox plug to a standard USB 3.0.
There are no more hardware requirements. All you need is to install the software to make it work, and at that point is where I got in troubles.
If you read the available tutorials on the web, the first step is installing Kinect for Windows SDK and after that connecting your Kinect to any USB 3.0 port. The device should be autodetected and de Kinect devices (camera, audio, and motor) will be shown on the Windows Device Manager.
Instead of that, what I got after installing was this:
If this is also your case and you installed the latest version of Kinect for Windows SDK (version 2.0), try the following:
- Unplug the Kinect from the USB 3.0 port
- Remove the version 2.0 software (It is advisable though I didn’t remove it from my computer)
- Install the previous version of Kinect for Windows SDK (version 1.8):
- You can find it at the Microsoft Site
- or you can download it from here if it is not available there.
- Plug the Kinect again in
- The correct drivers will be now installed
What todo do after that?
- Try installing Kinect for Windows SDK Toolkit. It contains a lot of utilities and POCs to show the capabilities of Kinect technology for Windows.
- Scan an object or even yourself to make a 3D printing
- Skanect is a very good choice, but the free version only allows exporting a limited number of polygons. Nonetheless, the result is at least curious and you can recognize yourself though you print it using Blue Sky PLA)
Skanect Scanner - Reconstructme is also a good option, though is less straight and I think it is more focussed on making a virtual color model of the object.
Reconstructme while Scanning
- Skanect is a very good choice, but the free version only allows exporting a limited number of polygons. Nonetheless, the result is at least curious and you can recognize yourself though you print it using Blue Sky PLA)
Both Recostructme and Skannect will allow you to export a .obj or .stl file and then you can post-process it with the application of your election.
