Kinect2 Skeleton
Updated: 4 Dec 2023
Control skeletal rigs from a Kinect 2.
Kinect2 Skeleton
Method #
This node controls the Kinect Skeleton tracked from a Kinect 2 camera sensor.
If this node is hashed out with red, this means the node isn’t active for some reason. Usually :
- Kinect isn’t on or hasn’t been connected to Notch.
- Kinect Skeletons have not been enabled in the project settings window.
- A suitable skeleton hasn’t been found yet (there is a slight delay with the Kinect 2 detecting bodies).
A skeleton stream (*.skel) file imported into resources can be applied for playback to the skeleton node with no active sensor required. Capturing a skeleton stream file during sensor playback is performed from the Devices/Capture Kinect1/Kinect2/Kinect4 data menu or by using Alt+K (once to start, once to end recording).
To visualise the tracked skeleton joints and their orientations, make sure to enable bounding box visualisation “BB” in the Nodegraph and this node is selected in the scene graph.
You will need to activate the Kinect camera you want to use by going to Devices > VideoIn/Camera/Kinect Settings and enabling it. Otherwise, it will not be initialized by Notch. This is by design, so Notch does not lock the device from the use by other software when you are not actively using it in Notch
Parameters
These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.
Parameter Details Position X
The objects position along the local x-axis.
Position Y
The objects position along the local y-axis.
Position Z
The objects position along the local z-axis.
Rotation Heading
The objects rotation around the local y-axis.
Rotation Pitch
The objects rotation around the local x-axis.
Rotation Bank
The objects rotation around the local z-axis.
Scale X
The objects scale along the local x-axis.
Scale Y
The objects scale along the local y-axis.
Scale Z
The objects scale along the local z-axis.
Control the inheritance of the transforms from the parent.
Parameter Details Position
Toggle inheritance of the Position from the parent.
Rotation
Toggle inheritance of the Rotation from the parent.
Scale
Toggle inheritance of the Scale from the parent.
World Position Only
Inherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties.
Inherit Time
Toggle inheritance of time from the parent.
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
Parameter Details Kinect Skeleton Stream
Kinect Skeleton stream (*.skel) resource for playback
Use Active Skeleton
When enabled, automatically select the currently active skeleton.
Avatar Index
Select which Skeleton to use from the avatar index. Only functional with Use Active Skeleton is disabled.
Input Skeleton Scale
Scale the size of the input skeleton.
Smoothing
How much smoothing is applied to the output skeletons motion.
Derive Rotations (Don't use Kinect SDK Rotations)
Use internally calculated rotations instead of rotations from the Kinect SDK.
Mirrored
Mirror the movements of the incoming mobcap data along the x axis.
Flip Z
Flip the Z axis of the skeleton, to match a model with a flipped z axis.
These properties control the playback properties of recorded Kinect 2 data.
Parameter Details Stream Start Frame
Start frame of Kinect Skeleton stream playback
Stream End Frame
End frame of Kinect Skeleton stream playback
Stream Frame Rate
The frame rate to playback the Kinect Stream
Inputs
These properties control the 3D transforms of the node. Transforms will generally be inherited by child nodes, although they can be ignored through the Inherit Transform Channels attributes.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Position X | The objects position along the local x-axis. |
| Position Y | The objects position along the local y-axis. |
| Position Z | The objects position along the local z-axis. |
| Rotation Heading | The objects rotation around the local y-axis. |
| Rotation Pitch | The objects rotation around the local x-axis. |
| Rotation Bank | The objects rotation around the local z-axis. |
| Scale X | The objects scale along the local x-axis. |
| Scale Y | The objects scale along the local y-axis. |
| Scale Z | The objects scale along the local z-axis. |
Control the inheritance of the transforms from the parent.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Position | Toggle inheritance of the Position from the parent. |
| Rotation | Toggle inheritance of the Rotation from the parent. |
| Scale | Toggle inheritance of the Scale from the parent. |
| World Position Only | Inherit the world position from the parent only, rotation and scale will be ignored. Overrides above properties. |
| Inherit Time | Toggle inheritance of time from the parent. |
These properties control the core behaviours of the node.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Kinect Skeleton Stream | Kinect Skeleton stream (*.skel) resource for playback |
| Use Active Skeleton | When enabled, automatically select the currently active skeleton. |
| Avatar Index | Select which Skeleton to use from the avatar index. Only functional with Use Active Skeleton is disabled. |
| Input Skeleton Scale | Scale the size of the input skeleton. |
| Smoothing | How much smoothing is applied to the output skeletons motion. |
| Derive Rotations (Don't use Kinect SDK Rotations) | Use internally calculated rotations instead of rotations from the Kinect SDK. |
| Mirrored | Mirror the movements of the incoming mobcap data along the x axis. |
| Flip Z | Flip the Z axis of the skeleton, to match a model with a flipped z axis. |
These properties control the playback properties of recorded Kinect 2 data.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Stream Start Frame | Start frame of Kinect Skeleton stream playback |
| Stream End Frame | End frame of Kinect Skeleton stream playback |
| Stream Frame Rate | The frame rate to playback the Kinect Stream |
| Name | Description | Typical Input |
|---|---|---|
| Hierarchy Root | Connect the skeleton root node to drive the rest of the skeleton from. | 3D Scene |
| Transform Modifiers | Apply the transforms of another node to this node. | Null |
| Target Node | Modifiy the rotations of the node to always direct the z axis towards the input. | Null |
| Local Transform Override | Apply the transforms of another node to this node, relative to its parent. | Null |