USB ‘Minority Report’ Device
As we all know that Neil Armstrong is the first person to walk on the Moon, can you recall his famous words as he set foot on the moon? Otherwise look them up as the chances are there. When the following Minority Report-esque ‘Leap‘ gesture-controlled interaction device goes on sale. They will be referenced a heck of a lot later this year.
The Leap
The $70 ‘Leap’, isn’t much bigger than your average USB dongle. It connects to an existing computer or laptop USB port of a laptop or PC to create an interactive three-dimensional space said to be ‘200 times more accurate’ than existing devices.
The 4-cubic feet squared field can be manipulated using fingers or other implements like pencils.
In fact, so precise is The Leap that the company behind it claim. Accurately it registers the sharpened tip of a pencil to 1/100 of a millimeter making it perfect for signature signing or pixel-perfect digital drawing.
For the leap, such precision opens up a world of potential. Far more than swiping and pinching your vacation photos or playing Angry Birds.
- Signing a digital document by writing in air
- Precise virtual drawing in 2-D and 3-D
- Creating and manipulating 3-D models like houses and cars
- Playing computer games, including fast-twitch first-person shooters
- Navigating large-scale 3-D data visualization systems
Leap Motion’s CEO Michael Buckwald says “It’s more accurate than a mouse, as reliable as a keyboard and more sensitive than a touchscreen. For the first time, you can control a computer in three dimensions with your natural hand and finger movements.”
Should the Leap prove to be every bit as responsive in ‘the wild’ as it is in the video demo then. Hyperbole or not, the device could find itself used as the dictionary definition of ‘game changer’.
SDK, Pre-Orders & Linux Support
I can salivate over the potential applications for ‘The Leap’ on Linux. Everything from UI interaction and gameplay, to accessibility could find use with the device.
The Linux will also support likely.
The company have said that Linux support is ‘on the agenda’ in both their FAQ, and in response to questions on Twitter.
To apply for a free SDK kit, developers interested in working with the device are invented.
Non-developers don’t need to feel left out, a ‘limited quantity’ of devices are available to pre-order directly through the official website with a shipping date of ‘this winter’.
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