The document provides an introduction to the Kinect sensor. It discusses Kinect hardware, including its RGB camera, IR depth sensor, and IR projector. It explains the Kinect's time-of-flight depth sensing technology. The document also discusses the OpenNI and NITE middleware for accessing Kinect sensor data. It provides code examples for retrieving depth maps and skeletal tracking data from the Kinect. Overall, the document aims to educate readers on developing applications using the Kinect by exploring its technical capabilities and available development platforms.