Difference between revisions of "Depth Sensors Comparison"

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[[iPi Recorder]] supports the following depth sensors:
 
[[iPi Recorder]] supports the following depth sensors:
* Modern depth sensors:
+
 
** MS Kinect 2 ([https://www.amazon.com/Xbox-One-Kinect-Sensor/dp/B00INAX3Q2 XBOX One Kinect] sensor plus [https://www.amazon.com/Xbox-Kinect-Adapter-One-Windows-Generic/dp/B07BMJKMVD Kinect Adapter for Windows])
+
* '''Modern depth sensors''':
** [https://www.amazon.com/Orbbec-Astra-Pro-3D-Camera/dp/B0748LHXTX Orbbec Astra (PRO)]
+
** [https://www.orbbec.com/products/tof-camera/femto-bolt Orbbec Femto Bolt] / [https://www.orbbec.com/products/tof-camera/femto-mega Mega]
** [https://click.intel.com/intelr-realsensetm-depth-camera-d435.html Intel RealSense D435] and [https://click.intel.com/intelr-realsensetm-depth-camera-d415.html D415]
+
** [https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/services/kinect-dk/ Azure Kinect]
** [https://www.amazon.com/Asus-3D-sensor-Skeleton-consumption-Automotive/dp/B0767K32JN ASUS Xtion 2]
+
** MS Kinect 2 ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00INAX3Q2/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00INAX3Q2&linkId=da247a196e84f14c2b61c08d18af20d9 XBOX One Kinect] sensor plus [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GVE4YB4/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01GVE4YB4&linkId=9badef6020066e1ff88608b3bdd77734 Kinect Adapter for Windows])
 +
**:{{Important|Multiple MS Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) sensors can be connected to a PC [[Multiple_Kinects_v2_on_a_Single_PC|with libfreenect2 library]]. With Microsoft SDK v2, each Kinect should be connected to a separate computer and [[Distributed Recording]] utilized.}}
 +
** [https://www.intelrealsense.com/lidar-camera-l515/ Intel RealSense L515]
 +
** [https://www.intelrealsense.com/depth-camera-d455/ Intel RealSense D455]
 +
** [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0748LHXTX/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0748LHXTX&linkId=99e13fb4588e2861884dc70a34e0ee15 Orbbec Astra (PRO)]
  
 
<center><table border=0><tr>
 
<center><table border=0><tr>
   <td width="22%"><center>[[Image:Kinect-2-for-XboxOne.jpg|thumb|Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One)]]</center></td>
+
   <td width="15%"><center>[[Image:FemtoBolt_1.jpg|thumb|Orbbec Femto Bolt]]</center></td>
   <td width="4%"></td>
+
  <td width="2%"></td>
   <td width="22%"><center>[[Image:Orbbec-Astra.jpg|thumb|Orbbec Astra (PRO)]]</center></td>
+
  <td width="15%"><center>[[Image:AzureKinect.jpg|thumb|Azure Kinect (Kinect for Azure)]]</center></td>
   <td width="4%"></td>
+
  <td width="2%"></td>
   <td width="22%"><center>[[Image:Intel-RealSense-D415-and-D435.jpg|thumb|Intel RealSense D415 and D435]]</center></td>
+
  <td width="15%"><center>[[Image:Kinect-2-for-XboxOne.jpg|thumb|Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One)]]</center></td>
   <td width="4%"></td>
+
   <td width="2%"></td>
   <td width="22%"><center>[[Image:ASUS-Xtion2.jpg|thumb|ASUS Xtion 2]]</center></td>
+
   <td width="15%"><center>[[Image:RealSenseL515.jpg|thumb|Intel RealSense L515]]</center></td>
 +
   <td width="2%"></td>
 +
   <td width="15%"><center>[[Image:RealSenseD455.jpg|thumb|Intel RealSense D455]]</center></td>
 +
   <td width="2%"></td>
 +
   <td width="15%"><center>[[Image:Orbbec-Astra.jpg|thumb|Orbbec Astra (PRO)]]</center></td>
 
</tr></table></center>
 
</tr></table></center>
  
* First generation depth sensors:
+
As to modern depth sensors, Azure Kinect and Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega sensors are the best choice for full body motion capture, while MS Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) sensor is also good enough. The quality and accuracy of depth maps from Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega, Azure Kinects and MS Kinects 2 are the best in market.
** MS Kinect v1 ([https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-L6M-00001-Kinect-for-Windows/dp/B006UIS53K Kinect for Windows] sensor or [https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-360-Kinect-Sensor-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B005GA1H4C] sensor plus [https://www.amazon.com/Supply-Adapter-Microsoft-Kinect-Motion-Sensor/dp/B004S7GA46 adapter])
+
 
 +
* '''First generation depth sensors''':
 +
** MS Kinect v1 ([https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KZIVEXO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00KZIVEXO&linkId=7befb1e430ea4c5e74df7f3c88cbb4dd Kinect for Windows] sensor or [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GA1H4C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B005GA1H4C&linkId=13d4fc04342fcf68688afe263a34273e Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect Sensor] sensor plus [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004S7GA46/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B004S7GA46&linkId=e5e252928fe7345bac08aa2b657c30c1 adapter])
 
** [http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Motion_Sensor/Xtion_PRO/ ASUS Xtion] and [http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Motion_Sensor/Xtion_PRO_LIVE/ ASUS Xtion Live] devices (and also PRO modifications for developers)
 
** [http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Motion_Sensor/Xtion_PRO/ ASUS Xtion] and [http://www.asus.com/Multimedia/Motion_Sensor/Xtion_PRO_LIVE/ ASUS Xtion Live] devices (and also PRO modifications for developers)
** [http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00KO92DA2/ref=dp_olp_0?ie=UTF8&condition=all&sr=1-7&qid=1420621852 PrimeSense Carmine 1.08]
+
** PrimeSense Carmine 1.08
  
 
<center><table border=0><tr>
 
<center><table border=0><tr>
Line 33: Line 43:
 
</tr></table></center>
 
</tr></table></center>
  
First generation depth sensors are almost outdated but still usable. For example, [https://www.amazon.com/Orbbec-Astra-Pro-3D-Camera/dp/B0748LHXTX Orbbec Astra (PRO)] has totally the same depth quality and resolution as these outdated sensors. For this reason you can use for example MS Kinect v1 sensor(s) and get exactly the same results as with Orbbec Astra sensor(s). If needed you can find more information about these sensors in [http://wiki.ipisoft.com/Depth_Sensors_Comparison documentation for previous version of iPi Motion Capture].
+
First generation depth sensors are almost outdated but still usable. For example, [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0748LHXTX/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0748LHXTX&linkId=99e13fb4588e2861884dc70a34e0ee15 Orbbec Astra (PRO)] has totally the same depth quality and resolution as these outdated sensors. For this reason you can use for example MS Kinect v1 sensor(s) and get exactly the same results as with Orbbec Astra sensor(s). If needed you can find more information about these sensors in [https://wiki.ipisoft.com/Depth_Sensors_Comparison documentation for previous version of iPi Motion Capture].
  
As to modern depth sensors, MS Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) sensor remains the best choice for full body motion capture. The quality and accuracy of depth map from MS Kinect 2 are the best on the market.
+
* '''Outdated and not recommended depth sensors''':
 +
** [https://www.intelrealsense.com/depth-camera-d435/ Intel RealSense D435] and [https://www.intelrealsense.com/depth-camera-d415/ D415]
 +
** [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0767K32JN/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=wwwipisoftcom-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0767K32JN&linkId=b49366fde9cdb89d9dd3b3c0fc91f034 ASUS Xtion 2]
  
{{Important|But only single MS Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) sensor can be connected to one PC due to limitation in Microsoft Kinect SDK 2. Each MS Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) sensor can be connected to a separate computer, [[Distributed Recording]] feature must be used.}}
+
<center><table border=0><tr>
 +
  <td width="48%"><center>[[Image:Intel-RealSense-D415-and-D435.jpg|thumb|Intel RealSense D415 and D435]]</center></td>
 +
  <td width="4%"></td>
 +
  <td width="48%"><center>[[Image:ASUS-Xtion2.jpg|thumb|ASUS Xtion 2]]</center></td>
 +
</tr></table></center>
 +
 
 +
 
 +
== Comparison ==
 +
 
 +
Main features of depth sensors:
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 +
! Place !! Sensor !! Price (approx) !! Technology !! Depth FOV (vertical) !! Depth Resolution !! Depth FPS !! Interface !! Multiple Sensors per single PC !! External Power Supply !! Tripod Mount !! Example
 +
|-
 +
| 1 || Azure Kinect || $400 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-of-flight_camera Time-of-Flight] || NFOV: 65°<br/>WFOV: 120° || NFOV: 640x576 (very good quality!)<br/>WFOV: 512x512 || 30 || USB 3.0 || yes || optional || yes (1/4″) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9n15G-1Eu4 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP_cv52gzdA 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n05e7LV1XkA 3], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6hK38p3a6k 4], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ_ita7TVQI 5]
 +
|-
 +
| 2 || Orbbec Femto Bolt || $400 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-of-flight_camera Time-of-Flight] || NFOV: 65°<br/>WFOV: 120° || NFOV: 640x576 (good quality)<br/>WFOV: 512x512 || 30 || USB 3.0 || yes || optional || yes (1/4″) ||
 +
|-
 +
| 3 || Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) || $160 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-of-flight_camera Time-of-Flight] || 60° || 512x424 (good quality) || 30 || USB 3.0 || yes || required || yes (1/4″) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrtxP7HfCQY 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-KH5MYzyIg 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arcpZSctZ0Y 3], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2_vs2XXskM 4], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMuZ3P1FCwk 5], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_Z0TOHf0zI 6]
 +
|-
 +
| 4 || Intel RealSense L515 || $350 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-of-flight_camera Time-of-Flight] || 55° || up to 1024x768 || 30 || USB 3.0 || yes || not required || yes (1/4″) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZmu3OkQZcM 1]
 +
|-
 +
| 5 || Intel RealSense D455 || $240 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structured_light Infrared Coded Structured Light] combined with stereo RGB matching || 57° || up to 1280x720 (but noisy!) || up to 90 || USB 3.0 || yes || not required || yes (1/4″) || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brUmSDhlqc0 1]
 +
|-
 +
| 6 || First-gen depth sensors || from $30 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structured_light Infrared Coded Structured Light] || 45° || 640x480 (interpolated, actual: 320x240 or even less) || 30 || USB 2.0 || yes || not required (except Kinect v1) || no || [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey3xJOf9xDI 1], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCu8KTrC4sc 2], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvRP7qXCBCA 3], [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msRtIZX529Q 4]
 +
|-
 +
| 7 || Orbbec Astra (PRO) || $160 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structured_light Infrared Coded Structured Light] || 45° || 640x480 (interpolated, actual: 320x240 or even less) || 30 || USB 2.0 || yes || not required || yes (M6 not 1/4″) ||
 +
|-
 +
| 8 || Intel RealSense D435 || $180 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structured_light Infrared Coded Structured Light] combined with stereo RGB matching || 65.5° (only 42° for RGB) || up to 1280x720 (but very noisy, inaccurate and with a lot of artifacts like waves and blur!) || up to 90 || USB 3.0 || yes || not required || yes (1/4″) ||
 +
|-
 +
| 9 || ASUS Xtion 2 || $270 || [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-of-flight_camera Time-of-Flight] || 52° (can be mounted in vertical position for 74°) || 640x480 (interpolated: actual is less than 320x240) || 30 || USB 3.0 || yes || not required || yes (1/4″, dual at bottom and side) ||
 +
|}
  
== Brief Comparison of Depth Sensors ==
+
Major Pros and Cons of depth sensors:
  
 
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
 
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
! Device !! Pros !! Cons
+
! Place || Sensor !! Pros !! Cons
 
|-
 
|-
| Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) ||  
+
| 1 || Azure Kinect ||
* Higher resolution of depth and RGB video
+
* The highest FOV (especially in WFOV mode)
* Lower noise, better quality of point cloud
+
* High resolution of depth and RGB video
* Higher overall tracking quality can be expected
+
* Low noise, the best quality and accuracy of point cloud
* Much better feet tracking
+
* The highest overall tracking and calibration quality can be expected
 +
* Good feet tracking
 
* Low mutual sensors interference
 
* Low mutual sensors interference
 
* More tolerant to lighting conditions
 
* More tolerant to lighting conditions
 +
* Supports external synchronization (for ideal sync of multiple devices)
 +
* Has settings for RGB camera (calibration video can be recorded in light room)
 +
* Multiple sensors can be connected to one and the same computer
 +
* Has mount for tripod
 +
||
 +
* High price
 +
* Short USB-cables (use active USB 3.0 repeaters to overcome this drawback)
 +
* Doesn't like certain fabrics (e.g. shiny)
 +
* Requires USB 3.0 controller
 +
* Requires Windows 10 64-bit (doesn't work in Windows 7, 8 and 8.1)
 +
* Out of stocks
 +
|-
 +
| 2 || Orbbec Femto Bolt ||
 +
* Mostly the same as Azure Kinect
 +
||
 +
* High price
 +
* Poor overlapping between color and depth images in WFOV depth modes
 +
* Doesn't like certain fabrics (e.g. shiny)
 +
* Orbbec SDK is not stable enough, and still has some bugs and issues
 +
|-
 +
| 3 || Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) ||
 +
* Good-enough FOV
 +
* Relatively high resolution of depth and RGB video
 +
* Low noise, good-enough quality and accuracy of point cloud
 +
* High overall tracking quality can be expected
 +
* Good-enough feet tracking
 +
* Low mutual sensors interference
 +
* Rather tolerant to lighting conditions
 
* Has mount for tripod
 
* Has mount for tripod
 
||  
 
||  
* Doesn't like shinning fabric
+
* Sensor itself is rather bulky
 +
* There's no settings for RGB camera like Exposition and Gain (thus, for light marker calibration video you have to have rather dark room)
 +
* Doesn't like certain fabrics (e.g. shiny)
 
* Requires USB 3.0 controller and external power supply
 
* Requires USB 3.0 controller and external power supply
* Only single sensor on one PC is supported by Microsoft Kinect SDK 2
 
 
* Does not work on Windows 7 (requires Windows 8 and higher)
 
* Does not work on Windows 7 (requires Windows 8 and higher)
 
|-
 
|-
| First-generation Depth Sensors ||  
+
| 4 || Intel RealSense L515 ||
* Ensures tracking quality comparable with Kinect 2, but hardware requirements are not so strong
+
* Good resolution and quality of depth map
 +
* Very compact
 +
* Has mount for tripod
 +
* Great tech support, fast fixes, frequent updates
 +
||
 +
* Not stable FPS
 +
* Quality of depth map depends on lightning conditions
 +
* Foot tracking is not practical with these LiDAR cameras
 +
* Short USB-cables (use active USB 3.0 repeaters to overcome this drawback)
 +
* Pricy
 +
|-
 +
| 5 || Intel RealSense D455 ||
 +
* Up to 90 FPS
 +
* High resolution of depth map
 +
* Good field-of-view (FOV)
 +
* Very compact
 +
* Has mount for tripod
 +
* Great tech support, fast fixes, frequent updates
 +
||
 +
* High noise of depth data, many artifacts and blur (but iPi tracking is powerful enough to provide reasonable results even with such quality of depth data)
 +
* Foot tracking is not practical with these depth cameras
 +
* Board calibration doesn't work with these sensors (only "Calibrate based on light marker" can be applied)
 +
* Short USB-cables (use active USB 3.0 repeaters to overcome this drawback)
 +
|-
 +
| 6 || First-generation Depth Sensors ||  
 +
* Ensures tracking quality comparable with that of Kinect 2, but hardware requirements are not so strong
 
* Requires USB 2.0 controller
 
* Requires USB 2.0 controller
* Multiple sensors can be plugged to single computer
+
* Multiple sensors can be connected to a single computer
 
* Works on Windows 7 and higher
 
* Works on Windows 7 and higher
 
||
 
||
 +
* Lower FOV
 
* Lower resolution
 
* Lower resolution
 
* Lower accuracy
 
* Lower accuracy
 
* Less tolerant to lighting conditions
 
* Less tolerant to lighting conditions
 
* Higher mutual interference of sensors leads to more noise in case of using several sensors
 
* Higher mutual interference of sensors leads to more noise in case of using several sensors
 +
* No mount for tripod
 +
|-
 +
| 7 || Orbbec Astra (PRO) ||
 +
:''See above (as 1st gen. depth sensors)''
 +
:Plus:
 +
* On sale
 +
||
 +
:''See above (as 1st gen. depth sensors)''
 +
:Plus:
 +
* Higher price compared to 1st gen. sensors
 +
* Non-standard tripod mount &mdash; '''M6''' instead of '''1/4″'''
 +
|-
 +
| 8 || Intel RealSense D435 ||
 +
* Up to 90 FPS
 +
* High resolution of depth map
 +
* Good field-of-view (FOV)
 +
* Very compact
 +
* Great tech support, fast fixes, frequent updates
 +
||
 +
* Very low quality of depth map (high noise, many artifacts)
 +
* Multiple sensor configuration is not practical with this sensors because of accuracy and quality of depth map (cannot be calibrated)
 +
* RGB camera has significantly lower FOV
 +
|-
 +
| 9 || ASUS Xtion 2 ||
 +
* Time-of-Flight like Kinect 2
 +
* Good field-of-view (FOV)
 +
* Can be mounted in vertical position
 +
* Very compact
 +
||
 +
* Extremely low effective resolution of depth map (too small amount of 3D dots)
 +
* No mapping between RGB and depth
 +
* With multiple sensors, sometimes mutual interference issues arise.
 +
* High price
 
|}
 
|}
  
 +
The winners are Azure Kinect, Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega and Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One). Intel RealSense L515 and D455 can be also used.
 +
 +
== Drivers and Software Libraries ==
  
== Technologies ==
+
The following sensors don't require special drivers and software to be recognized in [[iPi Recorder]]:
 +
* Azure Kinect
 +
* Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega
 +
* Intel RealSense D400, L500 series
 +
* ASUS Xtion 2
  
== Drivers ==
+
That is, you can simply plug in these sensors to computer and make recordings in [[iPi Recorder]] without need to install any drivers or SDK's.
  
To use the sensors, you may need to download and install device drivers and software libraries for ASUS Xtion / ASUS Xtion Live / PrimeSense Carmine.
+
Other sensors require special drivers and/or software libraries/SDK to be installed:
* 64-bit OS:
+
* MS Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) requires MS Kinect SDK 2.0:
** http://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/openni-win64-1.5.4.0-dev.msi
+
** https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=44561
** http://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/sensor-win64-5.1.2.1-redist.msi
+
* MS Kinect v1 (Kinect for Windows and Kinect for XBOX 360) requires MS Kinect SDK 1.8:
* 32-bit OS:
+
** https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40278
** http://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/openni-win32-1.5.4.0-dev.msi
+
* Orbbec Astra (PRO) requires special drivers:
** http://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/sensor-win32-5.1.2.1-redist.msi
+
** https://www.dropbox.com/s/oyw9pcfrf0zgck1/Driver_Windows.zip?dl=0
 +
* ASUS Xtion / ASUS Xtion Live / PrimeSense Carmine require OpenNI 1.5.4.0 and sensor drivers 5.1.2.1:
 +
** 64-bit OS:
 +
*** https://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/openni-win64-1.5.4.0-dev.msi
 +
*** https://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/sensor-win64-5.1.2.1-redist.msi
 +
** 32-bit OS:
 +
*** https://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/openni-win32-1.5.4.0-dev.msi
 +
*** https://files.ipisoft.com/3dparty/sensor-win32-5.1.2.1-redist.msi

Latest revision as of 11:47, 13 June 2024

Depth Sensors Support

iPi Recorder supports the following depth sensors:

Orbbec Femto Bolt
Azure Kinect (Kinect for Azure)
Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One)
Intel RealSense L515
Intel RealSense D455
Orbbec Astra (PRO)

As to modern depth sensors, Azure Kinect and Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega sensors are the best choice for full body motion capture, while MS Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) sensor is also good enough. The quality and accuracy of depth maps from Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega, Azure Kinects and MS Kinects 2 are the best in market.

Microsoft Kinect for Windows
ASUS Xtion Live
ASUS Xtion
PrimeSense Carmine 1.08

First generation depth sensors are almost outdated but still usable. For example, Orbbec Astra (PRO) has totally the same depth quality and resolution as these outdated sensors. For this reason you can use for example MS Kinect v1 sensor(s) and get exactly the same results as with Orbbec Astra sensor(s). If needed you can find more information about these sensors in documentation for previous version of iPi Motion Capture.

Intel RealSense D415 and D435
ASUS Xtion 2


Comparison

Main features of depth sensors:

Place Sensor Price (approx) Technology Depth FOV (vertical) Depth Resolution Depth FPS Interface Multiple Sensors per single PC External Power Supply Tripod Mount Example
1 Azure Kinect $400 Time-of-Flight NFOV: 65°
WFOV: 120°
NFOV: 640x576 (very good quality!)
WFOV: 512x512
30 USB 3.0 yes optional yes (1/4″) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
2 Orbbec Femto Bolt $400 Time-of-Flight NFOV: 65°
WFOV: 120°
NFOV: 640x576 (good quality)
WFOV: 512x512
30 USB 3.0 yes optional yes (1/4″)
3 Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One) $160 Time-of-Flight 60° 512x424 (good quality) 30 USB 3.0 yes required yes (1/4″) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
4 Intel RealSense L515 $350 Time-of-Flight 55° up to 1024x768 30 USB 3.0 yes not required yes (1/4″) 1
5 Intel RealSense D455 $240 Infrared Coded Structured Light combined with stereo RGB matching 57° up to 1280x720 (but noisy!) up to 90 USB 3.0 yes not required yes (1/4″) 1
6 First-gen depth sensors from $30 Infrared Coded Structured Light 45° 640x480 (interpolated, actual: 320x240 or even less) 30 USB 2.0 yes not required (except Kinect v1) no 1, 2, 3, 4
7 Orbbec Astra (PRO) $160 Infrared Coded Structured Light 45° 640x480 (interpolated, actual: 320x240 or even less) 30 USB 2.0 yes not required yes (M6 not 1/4″)
8 Intel RealSense D435 $180 Infrared Coded Structured Light combined with stereo RGB matching 65.5° (only 42° for RGB) up to 1280x720 (but very noisy, inaccurate and with a lot of artifacts like waves and blur!) up to 90 USB 3.0 yes not required yes (1/4″)
9 ASUS Xtion 2 $270 Time-of-Flight 52° (can be mounted in vertical position for 74°) 640x480 (interpolated: actual is less than 320x240) 30 USB 3.0 yes not required yes (1/4″, dual at bottom and side)

Major Pros and Cons of depth sensors:

Place Sensor Pros Cons
1 Azure Kinect
  • The highest FOV (especially in WFOV mode)
  • High resolution of depth and RGB video
  • Low noise, the best quality and accuracy of point cloud
  • The highest overall tracking and calibration quality can be expected
  • Good feet tracking
  • Low mutual sensors interference
  • More tolerant to lighting conditions
  • Supports external synchronization (for ideal sync of multiple devices)
  • Has settings for RGB camera (calibration video can be recorded in light room)
  • Multiple sensors can be connected to one and the same computer
  • Has mount for tripod
  • High price
  • Short USB-cables (use active USB 3.0 repeaters to overcome this drawback)
  • Doesn't like certain fabrics (e.g. shiny)
  • Requires USB 3.0 controller
  • Requires Windows 10 64-bit (doesn't work in Windows 7, 8 and 8.1)
  • Out of stocks
2 Orbbec Femto Bolt
  • Mostly the same as Azure Kinect
  • High price
  • Poor overlapping between color and depth images in WFOV depth modes
  • Doesn't like certain fabrics (e.g. shiny)
  • Orbbec SDK is not stable enough, and still has some bugs and issues
3 Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One)
  • Good-enough FOV
  • Relatively high resolution of depth and RGB video
  • Low noise, good-enough quality and accuracy of point cloud
  • High overall tracking quality can be expected
  • Good-enough feet tracking
  • Low mutual sensors interference
  • Rather tolerant to lighting conditions
  • Has mount for tripod
  • Sensor itself is rather bulky
  • There's no settings for RGB camera like Exposition and Gain (thus, for light marker calibration video you have to have rather dark room)
  • Doesn't like certain fabrics (e.g. shiny)
  • Requires USB 3.0 controller and external power supply
  • Does not work on Windows 7 (requires Windows 8 and higher)
4 Intel RealSense L515
  • Good resolution and quality of depth map
  • Very compact
  • Has mount for tripod
  • Great tech support, fast fixes, frequent updates
  • Not stable FPS
  • Quality of depth map depends on lightning conditions
  • Foot tracking is not practical with these LiDAR cameras
  • Short USB-cables (use active USB 3.0 repeaters to overcome this drawback)
  • Pricy
5 Intel RealSense D455
  • Up to 90 FPS
  • High resolution of depth map
  • Good field-of-view (FOV)
  • Very compact
  • Has mount for tripod
  • Great tech support, fast fixes, frequent updates
  • High noise of depth data, many artifacts and blur (but iPi tracking is powerful enough to provide reasonable results even with such quality of depth data)
  • Foot tracking is not practical with these depth cameras
  • Board calibration doesn't work with these sensors (only "Calibrate based on light marker" can be applied)
  • Short USB-cables (use active USB 3.0 repeaters to overcome this drawback)
6 First-generation Depth Sensors
  • Ensures tracking quality comparable with that of Kinect 2, but hardware requirements are not so strong
  • Requires USB 2.0 controller
  • Multiple sensors can be connected to a single computer
  • Works on Windows 7 and higher
  • Lower FOV
  • Lower resolution
  • Lower accuracy
  • Less tolerant to lighting conditions
  • Higher mutual interference of sensors leads to more noise in case of using several sensors
  • No mount for tripod
7 Orbbec Astra (PRO)
See above (as 1st gen. depth sensors)
Plus:
  • On sale
See above (as 1st gen. depth sensors)
Plus:
  • Higher price compared to 1st gen. sensors
  • Non-standard tripod mount — M6 instead of 1/4″
8 Intel RealSense D435
  • Up to 90 FPS
  • High resolution of depth map
  • Good field-of-view (FOV)
  • Very compact
  • Great tech support, fast fixes, frequent updates
  • Very low quality of depth map (high noise, many artifacts)
  • Multiple sensor configuration is not practical with this sensors because of accuracy and quality of depth map (cannot be calibrated)
  • RGB camera has significantly lower FOV
9 ASUS Xtion 2
  • Time-of-Flight like Kinect 2
  • Good field-of-view (FOV)
  • Can be mounted in vertical position
  • Very compact
  • Extremely low effective resolution of depth map (too small amount of 3D dots)
  • No mapping between RGB and depth
  • With multiple sensors, sometimes mutual interference issues arise.
  • High price

The winners are Azure Kinect, Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega and Kinect 2 (Kinect for XBOX One). Intel RealSense L515 and D455 can be also used.

Drivers and Software Libraries

The following sensors don't require special drivers and software to be recognized in iPi Recorder:

  • Azure Kinect
  • Orbbec Femto Bolt/Mega
  • Intel RealSense D400, L500 series
  • ASUS Xtion 2

That is, you can simply plug in these sensors to computer and make recordings in iPi Recorder without need to install any drivers or SDK's.

Other sensors require special drivers and/or software libraries/SDK to be installed: