LEAP Motion
• $69.99 (Pre-order price)
• LEAP
Think of the LEAP as a Microsoft Kinect for your computer monitor. If this works as well as the video above purports, the small $70 accessory could be a big hit amongst those of us who've always harbored hopes for a Minority Report/Prometheus-style user interface...
The San Francisco team behind the USB peripheral + software based LEAP are aiming high with their 3D, touch-free motion sensing and motion control device:
The Leap technology is 200 times more accurate than anything else on the market -- at any price point. Just about the size of a flash drive, the Leap can distinguish your individual fingers and track your movements down to a 1/100th of a millimeter.
Will the $70 device be a good thing for us desk jockeys who don't move anything except our mousing fingers, or will it be too tiring to manipulate and interact with your computer using your arms for more than a few minutes? I personally can't wait to try it out. The LEAP will be compatible with both OS X and Windows machines, with Linux support in the works. If you're as curious as I am, they plan to release a limited amount of the devices by winter, with full availability soon afterward. Full details here.
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I assumed with Windows 8 metro UI, this was microsofts exact end game. But it looks like maybe its not, its a shame, cause the Metro UI suits hand gestures just as well at tablet swipes.
this at least gets us toward a more "natural" interface. Our hands allow us such a range of gestures, that it seems only natural to get away from the 2D interfaces we currently use.
I am assuming your hand has to be more or less over the device to work..?
i don't see this working. i don't want to be waving my arms around all day. your arm needs some place to rest, like on your desk. i have a 27" display. i don't want to be moving my arms all over the place when a small flick of my wrist on the mouse covers the same distance.
with tablets, it makes sense, they are right in front of of, holding them. usually in a natural position as well, not eye level in front of us. i am not going to put my display on my lap...
JMorey: I think like consoles, it doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing decision. There could be times when using a gesture interface could come in hand, other times going back to the mouse as primary input, and possibly moments where a user could use the mouse in one hand and swipe to another screen. Some interesting and promising ideas of how to change how we interact with our computers...