Looks like Microsoft is discontinuing the Kinect Development kit. Any thoughts?
Hello @AlexEpa
I just read the information from the linked announcement…
I was a bit shocked as I planned to get at least two more, maybe four more sensors in the future … that I have either for my two recording systems, each 6 or one with 12, and then travel with them 
if needed
So I went to the Microsoft page and checked if I “could” theoretically buy (as I didn’t want to rush) … and at the German Microsoft page, it was no problem to check if two would be directly available …
So that calmed me down.
Then I went on and checked the named different sensors, which I was not aware of
This SICK Visionary sensor doesn’t look like it could be helpful to us as the immersive volumetric community.
Then I checked ORBBEC Femto sensors.
The Femto Mega & the Femto Bolt look to me like they would be interesting to check
Even when the high-resolution option only runs on 25FPS
… but the sensors are more expensive than the Azure… what is not good but the statement
“camera, which offers onboard compute for processing raw depth sensor data to depth map to offload the host PC from running this compute and free up more compute for user applications.”
sound promising
as well Network Data connection sounds good → bad looks the sync connector as it is a costum cable
But for me, it is still a joke that none of the Depth sensors went higher in resolution. It Would be amazing if Depth and RGB would be true 4K Or UHD with an option of scale down and best would be with up to 100fps
OK this are my thoughts about this announcement…
Greetings Martn
@AlexEpa - Yes, Microsoft has discontinued the Azure Kinect, and transferred the technology to companies like Orcbbec, who makes the comparable Femto Bolt. We are evaluating this and other sensors for future Depthkit support.
In the meantime, we will continue to support the Microsoft Azure Kinect (just as we still support the Microsoft Kinect v2 for Depthkit Core!).
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Hello,
I was looking to purchase more Azure kinect but I can’t find any (only around $1000 on ebay which is exagerated) and found out about the kinect being discontinued.
Would it work already to use Depthkit with the suggested Femto Bolt? Also would it work a mixed setup with Azure kinect + Femto Bolt ?
@PaulFerragut - Currently the Azure Kinect is the only sensor supported by Depthkit Studio. As supplies appear to have run out to purchase this model directly from Microsoft, we have expedited testing the Femto Bolt, and will publish updates when we have an anticipated timeline for support for this or any other sensor.
Your question about mixing different sensors in a single configuration is an interesting one, and I’ll discuss with my team and report back.
Thank you for your reply! Is the Femto Bolt the main next model you will support, or are there other ones to wait for? I am asking because I plan to use Depthkit at the university where I teach, and we currently have some budget to spend before November. Then, I will consider purchasing a few Femto Bolts.
@PaulFerragut The Femto Bolt is still undergoing testing, so we can’t guarantee that it will be the next sensor to be integrated into Depthkit until that testing is finished. We’ll keep you posted with our progress.