kinectable_pipe is a command-line utility that dumps user skeleton data from a Microsoft Kinect device to a standard Unix pipe.

Why?

Because Kinect programming is a pain in the neck, and by trivializing the device’s output into a simple text format, it becomes infinitely easier to digest in the scripting language of your choice.

This seems simple to the point of being almost useless

Yes, that’s the point. Do One Thing and Do It Well. There’s an accompanying rubygem that will add all the smart stuff like advanced gesture recognition, events, etc.

I tried it. It worked:

Graph of Don flapping his wings