It turns out seeing people in the movies controlling computers with hand gestures was a good CGI trick, but the company San Francisco company Leap Motion says it has now made it reality. The Leap is tiny-device the size of a stick of gum, but it will completely change the way you are used to interacting with your computer.
The Leap offers exactly what a flat surface cannot, a third dimension. With in a volume of four cubic feet, the Leap sensor bar will detect hand gestures made by all ten fingers to an accuracy of 1/100 of a millimeter. This provides the best sensitivity of any 3 dimensional motion detection system yet and truly delivers a sci-fi experience.
The official announcements offered just a few possible uses for the Leap: Navigation of desktop and browsers, precise drawing in 2D as well as 3D, rendering and manipulating 3D models and even playing first person shooters. One can do all of this using simple pointing, pinching, moving the hands in very intuitive ways. The Leap also offers customizable options to optimize its use within any application or accommodate any user.
Before you consider throwing out your existing PC for something compatible with the Leap, you should know the Leap simply connects to any PC via USB. The device can be embedded within almost any device with a computer. They anticipate endless applications by implementing the Leap into a wide range of devices that span from cell phones to refrigerators. One could even connect multiple Leap sensors to create a bigger workspace.
The company is not disclosing exactly how the Leap works. However, they do say that innovative, ingenious coding, resulting from many major mathematical breakthroughs, is at the heart of the device. To make sure their invention meets its full potential, they are offering a free SDK to developers who request them.
But somehow the device gets better. Apart from all of these features it is accessible to those without deep pockets for only $70. Some are eligible for pre-orders, but the general public will be able to buy a Leap at the end of 2012.
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