Leap Motion - $79.99
The Leap Motion controller is a new device that allows for touchless interaction with your computer or other peripherals (more on this later) by waving your hands or fingers. The device is modern and sleek with brushed metal and glossy black design. At only 3 inches long, it's definitely small and unobtrusive as well.
The Leap Motion controller is plugged into your Mac or PC via USB and placed in front of your keyboard or laptop. Out of the box, apps are ready to be used and even the set up get you feeling like you are in your own version of Minority Report. The set up shows you the range in which the Leap Motion can read as well as showing you how it sees your hand and individual movement from your fingers. Unlike the Kinect sensor which reads more macro movements such as arms or body, the Leap Motion has extremely precise tracking abilities for hands and fingers. The company claims the controller tracks all 10 fingers up to 1/100th of a millimeter.
The controller is to be used with a variety of different apps ranging from games to music based and utilities to experimental. Leap has its own app store called Airspace App Store which at the time of writing this contains 182 different apps. The popular mobile app Cut the Rope is available for free in the Airspace store allowing you to cut the rope by waving just your index finger in front of the screen. Another app, BetterTouchTool allows you to configure gestures to control different commands on your computer. Rotate your index finger clockwise and allow iTunes to skip to the next track. Wave your hand from left to right and switch applications.
A lot of the apps are fun to use and you'll feel very Tony Stark-ish. I find that most of the apps are really just for fun...for now. I don't know think the Leap Motion currently is going to change computing but I definitely see it's potential in the very near future. One of the best things so far is it's open SDK and well supported and documented API. It's a developer's delight and the possibilities are endless. The company seems extremely interested in how developer's use the device in creative ways. Leap has a blog where they feature new experiments as well as an active Twitter account (@LeapMotion) that engages with users regularly. Below are some fun experiments that developer's are finding is possible with the Leap Motion.
At $79.99 the Leap Motion is a fun device to play around with and especially worth it if you are a developer. The Leap Motion can be ordered from the company's website at https://www.leapmotion.com or from Best Buy, Amazon, or New Egg.
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