Today we are making available the beta for the Kinect for Windows SDK. Those of you who have been waiting in anticipation for this can download it here! The SDK includes device drivers for Kinect as well as APIs, device interfaces, installer documentation and other resource materials. The SDK is designed for academic researchers, developers and enthusiasts to take advantage of Kinect on the PC for creating incredible software projects utilizing natural user interface (NUI). The SDK gives developers access to key pieces of Kinect such as its audio technology, skeletal tracking, and system application programming interfaces and direct control of the Kinect sensor.

Since 9:30am (Pacific) this morning, Channel 9 has been doing a live broadcast on guidance on how to build applications for Kinect on the PC with the SDK. I suggest tuning in to the broadcast!

Back at MIX, we showed off Kinect on the PC being used to navigate the stars with the WorldWide Telescope. This is a good example of the experiences that can be developed on the PC with Kinect.

For more information on the Kinect for Windows SDK, I suggest reading this blog post from Steve Clayton on Next at Microsoft. Steve will also have another post up later today highlighting some of the things people have done over the last 24 hours with the SDK.