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The Leap: Gesture Control Like Kinect, But Cheaper and Higher Resolution
MrSeb writes "It seems Minority Report-style computer interfaces might arrive a whole lot sooner than we expected: A new USB device, called The Leap, creates an 8-cubic-feet bubble of 'interaction space,' which detects your hand gestures down to an accuracy of 0.01 millimeters — about 200 times more accurate than 'existing touch-free products and technologies,' such as your smartphone's touchscreen or Microsoft Kinect. Unfortunately Leap Motion (the company behind the Leap) is being very tight-lipped about the technology being used, but it's probably some kind of infrared LIDAR (radar, but using light), or perhaps a high-resolution version of Kinect (which only uses a 640x480 camera). It's available to pre-order for $70 — and developers can register for a free device + SDK."
"about 200 times more accurate than 'existing touch-free products and technologies,' such as your smartphone's touchscreen"
They sure have a bizarre definition of "touch-free" if it includes a touchscreen.
I'm having trouble understanding exactly what kinds of technology this device is using to obtain accuracy on the level of 10 micrometers for $70. On the website they only state:
Leap Motion technology is a breakthrough in computer interaction, using a patented mathematical approach to 3D, touch-free motion sensing and motion control software that’s unlike anything that currently exists on the market or in academia. Developed over the past 4 years, Leap Motion moves far beyond the current technologies designed for distant arm waving.
But that say a whole lot of nothing... Why are they being so coy about the technology behind the device? According to cnet, the company says:
"It's not as if we're using lots of processing power or some new hardware that just came on to the market," he said. "This is really about a fundamental scientific breakthrough, many Eureka moments that (Holz) stumbled through over four or five years of research."
So they want me to believe they came up with some magic algorithm, and not some new hardware tech? Because as far as I'm aware, the limitations in most sensors is hardware based, not software.
Personally, I'll be registering for a developer kit; or buying one outright to help a friend of mine with ALS. Since she's severely limited in movement, the ability to control her computer (and thereby much of her enviornment) via small recognizable gestures would be a drastic improvement for her quality of life.
... i need exactly ONE GESTURE to communicate with it.
There are plenty of environments where keyboards aren't ideal or even possible... think about a hospital OR (viewing PACS data) or media-based presentation. Such setups could also be helpful in other areas where sanitary rules would make touch-less devices a much better solution, like food processing plants and restaurants, etc.
Of course what's wrong with only 640K anyway? I guess people just haven't learn to code properly.
I would love to be able to lean back, rest my elbows on my chair armrest, forearms vertical, and control stuff by moving my fingers around. Much less strain on the wrists.,since the hands would be directly over them and in a neutral position.
Why do we need all these fucking gestures and shit? I guess most people still haven't figured out how to TYPE.
Typing is an unnatural interface that we've just grown accustomed to. After a while, we've become quite good at typing, but it's still an interface that one has to actually learn to use.
A more natural interface would be speech, but speech recognition is still far from the reliability of a keyboard.
On a parallel path, the mouse, while much (MUCH) more natural than a keyboard, can still get better. As soon as 2D displays are really replaced by 3D, mice would have to become 3D also.
The first problem was that 2D display (screen) and 2D gesture recognition (mouse) were easier than speech recognition. And now we are in a similar situation with 3D mice (this) and 3D screens (still crap).
The beauty of it all it that they'll all eventually converge in the same spot. Thought input and though output.
I agree... they're releasing absolutely zero tangible information about the product while accepting pre-orders and developer applications. Seems like they want to bring their investors some numbers on how many people are interested. It remains to be seen if this $70 price is even realistic... and for that matter exactly what kind of technology this actually is.
Speech is an unnatural interface, that one has to learn to use. It is also slow, inaccurate and cumbersome. Those are the problem when using it to interacts with other humans, trying to use it with computers is even worse.
The mouse is less natural, try to show an old person one. They will prefer the keyboard. 3D displays will not
Missing the point: it is not about computers, its about a wall mounted intelligent tv with automatic voice-command recognition that can turn your coffee on or off, download your tv episodes ...etc.
The future for computers has always been ubiquity, invisibility and support for daily shit.
NO SIG
Considering they're not one, not two, but NINETEEN versions behind in their OpenSSL software (currently at 0.9.8x) AND they're running FrontPage extensions, I have little confidence in their online process for creating accounts and placing orders. Oh, and they're 2 versions behind on Apache as well.
Apache/2.2.19 (Unix) mod_ssl/2.2.19 OpenSSL/0.9.8e-fips-rhel5 mod_auth_passthrough/2.1 mod_bwlimited/1.4 FrontPage/5.0.2.2635 Server at www.leapmotion.com Port 80
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
It's never been about need. We don't need the vast majority of technology out there. All you really need is access to food and water, a nice cave to shelter you from the elements, and a way to keep warm. Technology--especially tech such as this--is supposed to make things easier and/or improve quality of life.
"We don't need that" is rarely a good argument. Instead, you should investigate whether the proposed solution will make things better or worse, or have no impact (in which case you don't have to waste resources on it).
If you can't convince them, convict them.
"For a new technology to be successful, it must replace all usage cases of older technology" /. Anonymous Cowards and Moderators (apparently)
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In my current setup, I'd say I use my keyboard ~90% of the time and my mouse only about 10%.
Listen: I'm still glad I have the mouse.
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... but this has "fake" written all over it.
If they really managed to create an device that tracks multiple objects, in 3D (even when stacked), and with a resolution of 10 microns they won't just revolutionize computers and gaming. I've used industrial sensing devices that cost 100x as much and aren't even remotely capable of such feats.
Why do we need all these fucking gestures and shit? I guess most people still haven't figured out how to TYPE.
That is exactly *why* we need gesture recognition.
People communicate with each other -- and with their pets, and even with pre-verbal babies -- with gestures and not with keyboards.
I often use this as an example of why we continue to need better compute power --- until I can give my computer a dirty look or an obscene gesture to make it stop doing something I don't like, we'll continue to have a need for better human-computer interfaces.
This is *exactly* a step in the right direction -- where the computer learns how humans communicate -- instead of making humans have to learn something convenient for computers (pushing buttons / typing on keyboards).
Actually, I don't expect that I'll ever need that much computer assistance for my daily shit. Invisible or otherwise.
But... but... HOW will you manage without toilet paper sheet counting and averaging? You will actually have to remember to go buy T.P. instead of having Amazon ship you a case every so often automatically. Also, properly placed sensors can make sure you wipe properly, and then ask if you would like to upload a video of your last "download"...
You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
I'd be interested in having the (cooled down) hot water lines in my house purged when I walk into the bathroom in the morning
That can be done by a plumber... or yourself if you are ambitious. Run a return line from your bathroom branch of your plumbing to a lower point on your water heater (there's a drain valve at the bottom... you can 'T' off before that) and natural convection of water will ensure that your pipes are always "charged" with hot water from your water heater. It's called a hot water loop or a recirculating loop.
Link
Page 5 (You can usually forgo the pump if your water heater is in the basement)
Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.