Looking at the sdk download page I read
“Orbbec Body Tracking SDK imbedded inside the BETA version is free to use until January 31, 2018”
So it appears you plan to add an additional charge for access to Body Tracking after that time.
What will be the model after January 31st?
This could greatly effect how/if I move ahead integrating orbbec into our tool. If licensing will impact our users this will be a no go.
Still no update regarding the upcoming price model for the Body Tracking SDK.
My project will drive the purchase of many orbbec products as each end user will need to purchase an astra if they wish to use the body tracking features.
How am I going to be charged for promoting/advertising your product?
Any new word about this? We are also considering requiring the Orbbec camera… I have just received one for testing so I’ll need to determine this as well…
I have been informed by email that body tracking on windows will be free.
Thanks @ryanw… this would be good news for me. I’m trying to evaluate if it’ll be a good replacement for the kinect for an existing app. That will be hard if it expires today. I haven’t found a visual studio sample for hand gestures or body tracking yet… wondering if I’ll need to write something?
The smfl samples have both I believe.
We’ve been looking around for complete code samples/proof of body tracking & gesture tracking (we’re an ex-Kinect group too) but no luck.
Have you reached out to Gestoos? Evidently they are the best bet for the gesture recognition generally available although some folks have reported issues: Recommendations for hand gesture tracking - #2 by wtatters
The version of Orbbec Body Tracking (OBT) in Astra SDK v2.0.7-beta which was released in December expired February 28, 2018. (The page initially said January for a day or two but that was an error.) We will be releasing v2.0.8-beta2 this week with updated OBT expiration date as well as other fixes and new features.
The SimpleBodyViewer-SFML sample shows body tracking and in v2.0.8-beta2 it will also show hand grip detection.
You really need to be more open on how much body tracking is going to cost. My company will not touch it until we know.
I haven’t looked too deep at Gestoos… kinda worried about getting to far down the rabbit hole. Looks like they’ve extended body tracking till end of March. I suspect we’ll need to develop it completely, I’m a little hesitant about being dependent on another solution.
Same here @mrwaynesmith – a lot of unknowns for this platform.
Below are some findings for teams exploring gesture tooling with these other firms:
Docs: http://download.3divi.com/Nuitrack/doc/Overview_page.html
Built/maintained by a Russian firm named 3divi.com also known as VicoVR.com They’ve built various sensors to bring Kinect-like gesture interaction to smartphones (ARM/Android & other embedded platforms.)
PLATFORM: SDK for Windows/Linux/Android, no Mac
USER LIMITS: Maximum 2 users tracked
TECHNIQUE: Blackbox/trade-secret algorithm for gesture detection
EVALUATION: Can download a time-restricted sdk for evaluation immediately
GESTURES: “There are 6 possible types of gestures: waving, swipe left, swipe right, swipe up, swipe down and push”
TRAIN GESTURES: Unclear if any tooling/software to train custom gestures
COST: $20 to $30 USD, per-device & OS
Orbbec & Nuitrack announced a face-recognition partnership (no word on gestures) in 2017: 3DiVi and Orbbec Partner to Launch Recognition and Tracking Software into the Next Generation
Sell a device called “TVico” which is evidently a rebranded Orbbec Persee.
Docs (incomplete): http://www.gestoos.com/doxygen-samples/index.html#intro
Built by fezo from Spain
PLATFORM: SDK for Win/Mac/Linux ARM/Android (the “Gestoos SDK Bundle for Orbbec” version appears to only work for Windows)
USER LIMITS: Unclear
TECHNIQUE: Unclear
EVALUATION: Need to contact their team & await response
GESTURES: Unclear
TRAIN GESTURES: Unclear if any tooling/software to train custom gestures
GOTCHAS:
Note: At time of writing in Feb 2018, Astra SDK 2.0 has Orbbec Body Tracking integrated for Windows, Linux, and Android but not yet MacOS (still on version 0.5.0)
PLATFORM: Windows, Linux, Unity, no OSX yet at time of writing
USER LIMITS: 6 bodies
TECHNIQUE: Track 19 joints >> skeleton
EVALUATION: Download v2.0 for platform directly: Orbbec Body Tracking SDK – Orbbec
GESTURES: Proprietary system for hand pose detection
LICENSE: TBD-- email info@orbbec3d.com if specific licensing questions, free to try meantime
TRAIN GESTURES: No indication of tooling
GOTCHAS:
@josh Does the above for the Orbbec Bodytracking SDK sound about right to you?
Does this use Gestoos under the hood or is that a different SDK bundle?
@vicalg2018 Thanks for putting together the information for people. Might be good in its own thread.
OBT does not use Gestoos. We have our own gesture system for the hand pose (grip) detection. The user limit is 6 bodies, though it’s difficult to get that many in view at once. For licensing we are still deciding some details, but our goals are to make it inexpensive and not a hurdle for anyone who wants or needs to use it. Please email info@orbbec3d.com if you have questions about the licensing.
Thanks @vicalg2018 for this assessment! We are also considering Nuitrack, right now I’m trying to develop a proof of concept (starting with simple navigation using the Orbbec Astra)… I need to justify reengineering costs before I can get the project greenlighted. I imagine whoever could make this process seamless could capture the most market share of whatever void Kinect is leaving…
Awesome-- just updated above
Same here w/ Orbbec Astra-- I’m very weary of relying on a 3rd-parties (especially options that have a requirement to “phone home” in order to use on a new machine.)
Use some mechanism to read in list of gesture names & definitions (skeleton poses to build a gesture database, kind of like this: https://channel9.msdn.com/Blogs/k4wdev/Custom-Gestures-End-to-End-with-Kinect-and-Visual-Gesture-Builder)
Identify recognize/gestures (gesture name, confidence, body-id)
I imagine whoever could make this process seamless could capture the most market share of whatever void Kinect is leaving…
10x!
I am agnostic when it comes to the actual hardware, the Astra Pro is an incredible low-power/low-complexity device but what matters at the end of the day is the software & development velocity
When it comes to software, there’s another option (about which we should rightly be skeptical/cautious) Microsoft’s Kinect site cryptically write: “Microsoft is working with Intel to provide an option for developers looking to transition from the Kinect for Windows platform. Microsoft will continue to provide support for the Kinect for Windows SDK via our online forums, premiere and paid technical support. As developers transition from Kinect hardware, Microsoft encourages developers to look into Intel’s RealSense depth cameras.”
Unclear what “provide an option” means but perhaps that’s a clue about migrating their visual gesture builder tool to work w/ the RealSense cameras…why not an Orbbec?
@vicalg2018, great to talk with someone in my shoes… I initially ordered an Intel realsense camera but our lead analyst said that nuitrack/orbbec would offer the best option because of skeleton tracking. So I ordered an orbbec astra and am trying to develop a proof of concept… then I read that statement from Microsoft (which is pretty strong endorsement for the Intel camera)… Trying not to single highhandedly have to redevelop our entire product from scratch but it’s starting to seem that’s the way it’s heading… frustrated!!
Update from Intel: Migrating from Kinect & SDK integration w/ Microsoft? · Issue #1147 · IntelRealSense/librealsense · GitHub
Hello Josh,
regarding OBT, is there a plan a new version after 31 March 2018?
I’m trying now to use it with SDK 2.0.8 beta and VS2017. I have downloaded a .Net C# example from GitHub,“AstraDotNetDemo” is the name. I don’t receive any error but I don’t see any Skeletal Tracking.
When body tracking SDK expires, does it mean that all existing apps that use the API will not work?