Well, hand motion technology is about to get a major overhaul. The Leap Motion, which is a major “Leap” forward in gesture control technology was announced to ship out on May the 13th. For those of you who don’t know, the Leap Motion is basically like an X-Box Kinect, but way more advanced than anything that’s come out of X-Box. This device however isn’t made for any gaming console, but is a USB device made for your computer. It’s also extremely small (think Swiss Army Knife small).
You’ll basically put the device right in front of your keyboard, and wave your hands right above it, as you watch things on your screen move around at your command.
So, what makes this new device so special, and how does it revolutionize gesture tech? Well, it’s about 200 times as precise as anything that’s currently on the market to date, and that includes the Kinect. It can track any movement above the device, that’s as little as 1/100th of a milimeter, so it’s safe to say, flies just got a lot more pesky. But, if you’re looking for a device that’s extremely precise, this is what you really need to get your hands on.
So what are the main benefits?
Well, architects will have a much easier time designing buildings, or any 3D models for that matter. On the leap site it even states: “Something that took 10 seconds in real life would take 30 minutes with a computer”, and the device will no doubt speed up this process considerably, possibly even making it easier for game designers to create virtual worlds, much more quickly and easily.
You might think the device is extremely expensive, but it’s not. Pre-orders are going for only $70, and if you’re one of the people to get your hands on this device early, you can expect it to be shipped out on May 13th, according to this new report. The company is prioritizing these people over those who plan to buy it in a retail store. On May 19th, they said it will ship to Best Buy, so if you choose not to pre-order, you’ll still be able to get your hands on it there. Originally the device was supposed to be shipped in Winter of 2012, but for some reason, it was delayed.
The device however already seems to have garnered some serious popularity, with CEO Michael Buckwald saying “We are in mass production for hundreds of thousands of units. The expectation is that we will continue to fill all pre-orders that come in between now and the ship date in May.”.
Hundreds of thousands already? That’s quite a bit. Hopefully they’ll be able to keep up with the demand, because me personally, I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these bad boys. This is one of those devices that will revolutionize an industry, and improve our technology for the better, and for good.