First made by Douglas Engelbart as a prototype in 1968, the mouse has been around for what seems like an eternity in the world of technology.
But if touch-screens weren’t enough to spell doom for the device, Leap Motion certainly will.
Leap Motion is a high-resolution, fully functional user interface, that when attacked to a computer can read gestures and translate them into input without the need to touch anything. With the flick of a finger in the air, you can scroll web pages, browse images and even draw.
There are obvious similarities between Leap Motion and Microsoft’s Kinect which was created to serve a similar purpose in gaming. But Leap Motion can detect fingers, toes and even hair. Unlike the Kinect, which is not known for its precision, Leap Motion can distinguish all 10 fingers individually and track movements within 1/100th of a millimeter. Meaning you could use chopsticks as you input mechanism if you needed to.
And given how the device comes conveniently packaged as a USB dongle and is being made to work on all platforms, you might soon see graphic artist drawing by waving their fingers, or football players practicing spots kicks in front their monitors.
How long will the wait for the future be? Just a few months; Leap Motion will be available for both PC and Mac by December 2012 or January 12013. And instead of costing an arm and a leg, pre-orders for the device begins at only $70 (Rs. 6800).
The folks at MIT Tech Review are calling Leap Motion the biggest technological achievement in the world of computers to date. But if you still aren’t convinced about the practically of Leap Motion, Dailymotion.com has a video where the device is shown being used – it is guaranteed to leave you amazed. And with Apple’s Former VP Andy Miller at the helm of the production team making the device, we can only expect that Leap Motion will exceed expectation.
By Adi Abdurab