Leap Motion – Desk draw candy

Leap Motion has huge potential but this version is no more than a toy.

• The delayed Leap Motion controller is finally in the wild but it does not look ready to be the answer to the touch screen yet.
• The Leap Motion controller is a cool looking device that sits on the desktop and allows the user to interact with a computer using 3D hand gestures.
• The system is so accurate that it can track movements of all 10 fingers simultaneously raising the possibility of whole new way to interact with electronics.
• This device has the possibility to turn any desktop or TV screen into a touch-based device at a much cheaper price ($80) than putting touch sensitivity into the panel. (see here)
• Dreams of Minority Report and Tony Stark abound as one unboxes the product and plugs it in but these dreams remain unfulfilled.
• The device comes with software for calibration as an app store that has 54 apps for Windows 7 and 8 and 58 for Mac OSX.
• The initial set up is very encouraging as the orientation application is well crafted with light beams and ambient music synchronised with one’s fingers.
• Unfortunately, it is all downhill from there as the experience with other applications is inconsistent at best and very frustrating at worst.
• Trying to take control of a Windows desktop using the controller is an exercise in futility and many of the games do not work well enough to hold the attention for long.
• The other problem is that holding ones arms freely in the air for long periods of time is actually quite tiring and a lot of tinkering was required to get the device to work properly while resting an elbow on the desk or armrest of an office chair.
• I am a big believer in the potential of this device as it offers a highly cost effective way to turn any screen into something that is very easy to interact with.
• The problem is that it needs to be much more robust.
• It has to just work out of the box and work perfectly all the time.
• Furthermore it has to be easier and more intuitive to use than a mouse.
• If it can fulfil these criteria then I think adoption could be substantial which would lead to application developers scrambling to implement it.
• I can also see it being integrated into keyboards, screens and laptops and becoming a standard piece of computing equipment.
• Hewlett Packard is in the lead here as it has already announced that it will integrate the controller into some of its laptops (see here)
• Unfortunately, in its current state Leap Motion is no more than a cool toy that will be played with for a while but then end up gathering dust in a desk draw while the real work is done.