OpenNI or ''Open Natural Interaction'' is an industry-led

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

and

open source software Open-source software (OSS) is Software, computer software that is released under a Open-source license, license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and Software distribution, distribute the software an ...

project focused on certifying and improving interoperability of natural user interfaces and organic user interfaces for Natural Interaction (NI) devices, applications that use those devices and middleware that facilitates access and use of such devices. PrimeSense, who was founding member of OpenNI, shutdown the original OpenNI project when it was acquired by

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

on November 24, 2013; since then Occipital and other former partners of PrimeSense are still keeping a forked version of OpenNI 2 (OpenNI version 2) active as an open source software, primary for their own Structure SDK ( Software Development Kit) which is used by their Structure Product.

History

The organization was created in November 2010, with the website going public on December 8. One of the main members was PrimeSense, the company behind the technology used in the

Kinect Kinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB color model, RGB cameras, and Thermographic camera, infrared projectors and detectors that map dep ...

, a motion sensing input device by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the Xbox (console), original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was officially unveiled on MTV on May 12, 2005, with detail ...

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

. In December 2010, PrimeSense, whose depth sensing reference design

is based on, released their own open source drivers along with motion tracking middleware called ''NITE''. PrimeSense later announced that it had teamed up with Asus to develop a PC-compatible device similar to Kinect, which would be called Wavi Xtion and was scheduled for release in the second quarter of 2012. Their software is currently being used in a variety of open-source projects among academia and the hobbyist community. Recently, software companies have attempted to expand OpenNI's influence by making working with and integrating the technology dramatically simpler. After the acquisition of PrimeSense by

, it was announced that the website OpenNI.org would be shut down on April 23, 2014. Immediately after the shutdown, organizations that used OpenNI subsequently preserved documentation and binaries for future use. Today, Occipital and other former partners of PrimeSense is still keeping a forked version of OpenNI 2 (OpenNI version 2) active as an open source software for their Structure SDK for their Structure Product.

Natural Interaction Devices

''Natural Interaction Devices'' or ''Natural Interfaces'' are devices that capture body movements and sounds to allow for a more natural interaction of users with computers in the context of a

Natural user interface In computing, a natural user interface (NUI) or natural interface is a user interface that is effectively invisible, and remains invisible as the user continuously learns increasingly complex interactions. The word "natural" is used because most c ...

. The

and Wavi X-tion are examples of such devices.

OpenNI Framework

The OpenNI framework provides a set of

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

s. These APIs are intended to become a standard for applications to access natural interaction devices. The API framework itself is also sometimes referred to by the name ''OpenNI SDK''. The APIs provide support for * Voice and voice command recognition * Hand gestures * Body Motion Tracking

Organization

Pioneering Members

* PrimeSense - Natural Interaction & 3D Sensing * Willow Garage - personal robotics applications * ASUS - hardware manufacturer for full body motion apps and games

Middleware Partners

* FORTH ICS – Institute of Computer Science
TipTep
*

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

– 3D Face Modeling & Recognition * Ayotle – Vision Software
SigmaRD

Camera Partners

LIPS
- Provider of Time-of-Flight (ToF), Stereo, and Structure Light based 3D cameras that support OpenNI

References

{{Reflist

External links

Structure.io/OpenNI

OpenNI2 source code repository, forked from PrimalSince OpenNI2 by Occipital

OpenNI Forums

Application programming interfaces Standards organizations