Gesture control may be making its way into the main stream in the first part of 2013 as Leap Motion announced it had struck a deal with Taiwanese manufacturer Asus. The PC and laptop maker will be bundling its high end products with the hand gesture control functionality which can track hand and finger motions accurately.
Leap Motion’s tracking device lets users interact with objects and programs on the computer by moving their hand in the air above the device in swipes, pokes, and grabs without touching the screen or device. The startup first product will be getting a major boost from the Asus deal which will give it significant exposure.
Leap Motions first product is expect to start shipping in the first part of the year and is prices at $70. This is roughly the time the Leap Motion device will be bundled with Asus’s high end laptops and computers.
Leap Motion’s co-founder and CEO, Michael Buckwald, talked about why Asus made the deal and said that, “They, like us, believe this will revolutionize interaction on the PC platform.” He also talked about the innovative device his company makes and said that “It’s much more intuitive because you don’t have to remember a new sign language. Someone can reach out as they would in the real world.”
The gesture control platform could get a major boost from the deal because a large number of users will get to use the device. Buckwald says that, “We’ll be watching closely to see what they do with it.”
Asus will preinstall software that will allow users to control Windows 8 through gestures. The just released operating system from the world’s largest software developer was created keeping gesture control in mind.
Leap Motion has got some great demonstration videos of its device that has left people quite excited to see the possibilities. However, the startup knows that if software developers do not include gesture controls with applications the device will be useless.
Buckwald says that, “We want developers to feel confident that there’s going to be a significant market around Leap.” This is where the deal with Asus will make developers hopeful that their efforts will have an audience. Leap Motion is also working on an app store for developers so that developers can sell their Leap compatible apps. Check out the Leap Motion demo video from the good people at Cult of Mac below.
Source: Technology Review
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