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

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

and

open source software Open-source software (OSS) is computer software that is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to use, study, change, and distribute the software and its source code to anyone and for any purpose. Open ...

project focused on certifying and improving interoperability of natural user interfaces and

organic user interfaces In human–computer interaction, an organic user interface (OUI) is defined as a user interface with a non-flat display. After Engelbart and Sutherland's graphical user interface (GUI), which was based on the cathode ray tube (CRT), and Kay and ...

for Natural Interaction (NI) devices, applications that use those devices and

middleware Middleware is a type of computer software that provides services to software applications beyond those available from the operating system. It can be described as "software glue". Middleware makes it easier for software developers to implement co ...

that facilitates access and use of such devices.

PrimeSense PrimeSense was an Israeli 3D sensing company based in Tel Aviv. PrimeSense had offices in Israel, North America, Japan, Singapore, Korea, China and Taiwan. PrimeSense was bought by Apple Inc. for $360 million on November 24, 2013. History Prim ...

, who was founding member of OpenNI, shutdown the original OpenNI project when it was acquired by

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

on November 24, 2013; since then Occipital and other former partners of

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 A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific to ...

) 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

, the company behind the technology used in the

Kinect Kinect is a line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB cameras, and infrared projectors and detectors that map depth through either structured light or time of flig ...

, a

motion sensing Motion detection is the process of detecting a change in the position of an object relative to its surroundings or a change in the surroundings relative to an object. It can be achieved by either mechanical or electronic methods. When it is done by ...

input device In computing, an input device is a piece of equipment used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system, such as a computer or information appliance. Examples of input devices include keyboards, mouse, scanners, cameras ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...

for the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

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 be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally placed i ...

. In December 2010,

, 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

, 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 the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standa ...

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

- Natural Interaction & 3D Sensing *

Willow Garage Willow Garage was a robotics research lab and technology incubator devoted to developing hardware and open source software for personal robotics applications. The company was most likely best known for its open source software suite ROS (Robot ...

- personal robotics applications * ASUS - hardware manufacturer for full body motion apps and games

Middleware Partners

FORTH ICS Forth or FORTH may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''forth'' magazine, an Internet magazine * ''Forth'' (album), by The Verve, 2008 * ''Forth'', a 2011 album by Proto-Kaw * Radio Forth, a group of independent local radio stations in Scotla ...

– 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 C ...

– 3D Face Modeling & Recognition *

Ayotle Ayotle is a French-Mexican company headquartered in Paris, France, that develops computer vision software. It provides technical services based on motion capture and 3D sensors for interactive applications to the media and entertainment indus ...

– 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