Kinect Open Source Programming Secrets (KOPS) is the only book that explains the official Java wrappers for OpenNI and NITE. (If you want installation instructions, scroll down this page a little.)

The main drawback of using the PrimeSense Java wrappers is their lack of documentation. As I explain in chapter 1, I had to decompile the libraries' JAR files, and work out the correspondences between the Java source and the somewhat better documented C++ OpenNI/NITE APIs. This is why including "secrets" in the book's title isn't too excessive :).

This book covers programming topics not found elsewhere. I start off with the basics, with chapters on depth, infrared, and RGB imaging, point clouds, skeletal user tracking, hand tracking, and gesture support. Moving beyond that, I look at several novel and unusual features, including:

• Kinect gaming based around a version of the classic Breakout video game.
   
• Controls for the Kinect motor, LED, and accelerometer, which aren't part of the standard OpenNI API. In fact, their absence is often held up as a serious drawback of the API. It's actually quite easy to add these capabilities using a custom-built USB driver.
   
• 3D graphics programming in the point cloud and skeletal tracking examples, using Java 3D.
   
• A computer vision chapter which explains how to link the Kinect to the popular (and powerful) OpenCV library.
   
• The creation of new body gestures (inspired by the FAAST system), which aren't part of the limited NITE repertoire.
   
• A new type of GUI component controlled by hand gesturing (which I call a GGUI), illustrated with three examples - a button, dial, and slider - all controlled without the help of mouse or keyboard

Early (sometimes very early) draft versions of KOPS's chapters can be downloaded from here (see the links below). All the book's code is here, downloadable on a chapter-by-chapter basis from each chapter's page, or as a single zip file (576 KB). I'll also be adding new chapters here; chapters which don't appear in the book.

If you're looking for Killer Game Programming in Java then it's here.

What this Book is Not About

I'm concentrating on the Kinect without including chapters explaining OOP concepts such as classes, objects, and inheritance. This is not a book for first-time Java programmers.

More importantly, I don't have the space to seriously explain the topics of 3D graphics or computer vision. I introduce them (in the form of Java 3D and JavaCV) in enough detail so that you can understand my examples, but there are worlds of material which I don't mention. When I get to these topics, I'll suggest books and websites where you can find more information.

Installation Information    READ THIS!!!! The installation details have changed since the book was published. An Installation Checklist for OpenNI/NITE on Windows (which include the Java wrappers).   A very nice installation guide for Mac OS X.   Two installation guides for Ubuntu (a great Linux distro): here and here.   Chapters    Last updated 27th September 2012: Added Chapter 2.1. on charting the depth map. All the code from the book as a single zip file (576 KB). This doesn't include extra chapters, such as chapter 14, which don't appear in the book.   Powerpoint slides from JavaOne 2012 (14.1 MB). These don't include the demo videos I used during the talk, otherwise the file size would go up to 1.4 GB!!. I included examples on finger detection, augmented reality, and emperor tracking, which aren't on this website yet, but will be added as soon as I have time.   If you want to see a VIDEO of my talk, which includes all the demos, along with my dulcet voice commentary, then visit the JavaOne 2012 technical session, CON3400 - Kinect Open Source Programming Secrets: Hacking with OpenNI, NITE, and Java. Click the link in the "Media" section in the right-hand sidebar.     Chapters 1 & 2. Kinect Imaging   Chapter 2.1. Charting the Depth Map  (New) This chapter does not appear in the book.   Chapter 2.3. Changing the Background This chapter does not appear in the book.   Chapter 2.4. Kinect Snow This chapter does not appear in the book.   Chapter 2.5. Transforming the User This chapter does not appear in the book.   Chapter 3. A Point Cloud for Depths   Chapter 4. Tracking Users in 2D   Chapter 5. Viewing Users in 3D   Chapter 6. The Tilt Motor, LED, and Accelerometer   Chapter 7. NITE Hand Gestures   Chapter 8. NITE Hands Tracker   Chapter 9. Kinect Breakout   Chapter 10. Gesture GUIs   Chapter 11. Kinect Capture   Chapter 12. Motion Detection Using OpenCV   Chapter 13. FAAST-style Body Gestures   Chapter 14. Speech Recognition This chapter does not appear in the book.   Chapter 15. Using the Kinect's Microphone Array This chapter does not appear in the book.