# OpenKinect/libfreenect2

Open source drivers for the Kinect for Windows v2 device

Repository: https://github.com/OpenKinect/libfreenect2
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/libfreenect2
Language: C++
License Family: other
Last push: 2024-04-09T23:36:01+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4658, "days_push": 876, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2245, forks 791 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:30.118468+00:00)

## What it is
libfreenect2 is an open-source C++ driver library for the Kinect for Windows v2 depth camera. It handles RGB, IR, and depth image transfer over USB 3.0, plus RGB-to-depth registration and GPU-accelerated depth processing via OpenGL, OpenCL, CUDA, or Vulkan.

## Use cases
- access kinect v2 depth and color streams in my c++ application
- register rgb and depth images from a kinect for windows v2
- capture ir and depth data for robotics or 3d scanning research
- run kinect v2 on linux without the official microsoft sdk
- do gpu-accelerated depth processing with cuda or opencl from a kinect

## When to choose
- you have a Kinect for Windows v2 and need a cross-platform open-source driver
- you need raw RGB/IR/depth streams with registration for computer vision or robotics research
- you want GPU-accelerated depth packet processing without the Microsoft SDK

## When to avoid
- you have a Kinect v1 or Xbox 360 sensor (use libfreenect instead)
- you need firmware updates or newer Azure Kinect devices
- you only have USB 2.0 ports or problematic USB controllers

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: computer-vision, image-processing, sdk, graphics
- domain: computer-vision, hardware, robotics, image-processing
- platform: windows, cpp
- tags: kinect, depth-camera, rgb-d, usb3-driver, libfreenect2, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- OpenKinect/libfreenect2 (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:30.118468+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:43:59.672844+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/OpenKinect/libfreenect2 (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:30.118468+00:00, sha 77b9a8388dac)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.