A helper class designed to make working with the Microsoft Kinect in C# WPF Applications a breeze.

(The Kinect SDK and a Microsoft Kinect are required)

Made by Ben Centra (bencentra@csh.rit.edu)

Version 1.02 - 06/03/13

• Added InfraredStream option, overrides output of ColorImageStream (Kinect can only do one or the other)
• Added AudioStream, can get audio buffer, beam angle, and source angle

Version 1.01 - 2/28/13

• Can set the background of the skeletonBitmap using ChangeSkeletonBackgroundColor()
• Added PointMapper to allow for point-to-screen conversion outside of drawing the skeleton

• Instantly sets up Color, Depth, Skeleton, and Audio data streams
• Converts Color and Depth data for easy display
• Draws Skeleton bones and joints in both Default and Seated modes
• Access to Kinect motor for angle adjustment
• Access to live stream data through custom events

Start by creating a new C# WPF Application in Visual Studio and adding 'KinectHelper.cs' to the project.

Next, add the appropriate Controls to MainWindow.xaml, such as:

• Images for the Color, Depth, and Skeleton data
• Slider for adjusting the motor angle
• Checkbox for toggling Seated mode

Then, add a KinectHelper object to MainWindow.xaml.cs:

// Create a new KinectHelper
private KinectHelper helper;

Instantiate the KinectHelper inside of a "Loaded" event handler for the Main Window:

private void MainWindow_Loaded(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
{
    // Enable the Kinect and data streams manually with default constructor
    helper = new KinectHelper();
    helper.UseColorImageStream = true;
    helper.UseDepthImageStream = true;
    helper.UseSkeletonStream = true;
    helper.InitializeKinectSensor();
}

You can also use the shorthand constructor for the KinectHelper to do all the above in one line:

// Enable the Kinect and all data streams with the shorthand constructor
// KinectHelper(bool useColor, bool useDepth, bool useSkeleton, bool useAudio, bool useInfrared)
helper = new KinectHelper(true, true, true, false, false); 

To view the output of the Kinect's data streams, set the Source property of the Image controls created in MainWindow.xaml:

// Link the UI Images with the images produced by the Kinect
_colorImage.Source = helper.colorBitmap;
_depthImage.Source = helper.depthBitmap;
_skeletonImage.Source = helper.skeletonBitmap

You can use some additional KinectHelper methods to control the motor angle and toggle Seated mode in event handlers for the other controls created in MainWindow.xaml:

// Adjust the motor angle using the value of a Slider control (value range -27 to +27)
helper.AdjustElevationAngle((int)_tiltSlider.Value); 
// Toggle Skeleton Tracking mode (true = Seated, false = Default)
helper.ToggleSeatedMode(true); 

You can also access stream data directly using custom events. For example, to listen for SkeletonDataChange events, first add the following to your Main Window Loaded event:

// Listen for data stream change events 
helper.SkeletonDataChanged += new KinectHelper.SkeletonDataChangedEvent(SkeletonDataChange);

Then, add the event handler method ("SkeletonDataChange") to MainWindow.xaml.cs:

// Event Handler for changes in Skeleton data
// Allows for direct access to the Skeleton data
private void SkeletonDataChange(object sender, SkeletonDataChangeEventArgs e)
{
    //Get the position of the first Skeleton
    Skeleton skel = e.skeletons[0];
    Point skelPoint = helper.SkeletonPointToScreen(skel.Position);
    Console.WriteLine("Skeleton 1 at (" + skelPoint.X.ToString() + "," + skelPoint.Y.ToString() + ")!");
}

• Add more features (Face Tracking, Gestures, other SDK 1.7 stuff, etc)
• Allow user to set Audio Stream options before initializing

• Kinect for Windows SDK Documentation: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh855347.aspx
• Kinect SDK Tutorials by Renaud Dumont: http://www.renauddumont.be/en/2012/kinect-sdk-1-0-1-introduction-a-lapi