Joseph Smith, Reporter
Remember the scene from Minority Report where Tom Cruise navigates his space-aged computer by simply waving his hands in the air? It’s both innovative and futuristic- but also not as far away in the future as you might think.
Introducing The Leap Motion Controller, the first viable touch free device to replace the classic mouse. The device is about the size of a USB flash drive, but contains two cameras and three infrared LEDs. The device was released worldwide July 28th with a price of $80,
The Leap Motion Controller projects a cone of infrared light (invisible to the naked eye) much like a remote communicating with your television. You place your hands in this cone, and during initial setup you calibrate it with your motions in order to control the computer. For instance, while using Google Maps, making a fist will stop the globe from spinning and a flat hand will reduce the rate of the spin.
Although the technology isn’t totally new, The Leap Motion Controller is designed to be immensely accurate. According to statistics from Techspot Analysis, the device is able to detect the smallest of movements, up to 1/100th of a millimeter, with little perceivable delay.
In an effort to make the device more applicable for daily use, it also comes with its own app store available for both Mac and PC. According to a The Leap Motion Controller press release, users purchased over one million apps in the first three weeks of its release.
According to Techspot.com, there are still a few bugs to be ironed out. A major downside is that there is no universal “alphabet” of gestures for navigating computers, so different gestures are required for each app. In Google Earth’s app, the slightest nudge of a finger can send the planet into a wild spin.
Overall, itseems to be a cool gadget and has the potential to revolutionize the computer as we know it. But it’s not perfect yet. Keep your eyes open for a chance to try it out yourself. After all, who knows-you could be the next Tom Cruise.
