Seems like Intel RealSense can have more possibilities and uses...
Intel Perceptual Computing SDK 2013 Advantages:
- Smaller and less expensive: The Intel camera (produced by Creative) is smaller than a Microsoft Kinect for Windows sensor, is powered over USB, and is designed to sit on top of most computer displays.
- Close-range tracking: It is specifically built for close range tracking, with a range of 0.5ft to 3.25ft (and a diagonal frame of view of 73 degrees).
- Hand posture/gesture recognition: The SDK allows recognition of hand postures like thumbs up, thumbs down and peace, and gestures like waving, swiping and circling with a hand. Other gestures like grab and release or pan and zoom can be implemented by examining the openness of the palm and fingertip positions.
- Facial analysis: The Intel SDK provides capabilities for face tracking, recognition and detection as well as age and gender determination. Expressions like smiling and winking can also be detected.
- Speech: Developers can leverage speech recognition by specifying a predefined list of commands, or multiple lists constituting a grammar. The SDK also has built-in support for speech synthesis powered by Nuance.
- Raw data: Developers have access to raw color and depth data from the sensor along with a confidence map to account for distance and light conditions.
- Framework support: The Intel SDK supports frameworks like Processing, Unity and OpenFrameworks and ships with basic examples to make setting up and writing simple apps with these frameworks easier.
Intel Issues:
- Getting some of the deeper features (like age and gender detection) to work is a bit tricky.
- Due to the close range of the tracking system, hand gestures must be designed such that a user’s hand doesn’t occlude their own view of the display.
Best for:
Desktop/laptop applications where the user will be seated in front of the PC.
Close range applications where features, apart from hand tracking and recognition, are necessary without too much precision or accuracy.
Info from
https://stimulant.com/depth-sensor-shootout/