The Leap Motion arrived in a spiffy box that looked very professional for a first generation product. The bottom features the Leap Motion logo (it is just the work "Leap" so I don't know if that qualifies as a logo exactly), and a gloss black top. There is a proprietary connection on the side and a light on the front. The Leap Motion is three inches wide, a half an inch tall, and just over an inch deep. I knew the Leap Motion would be small and light, but I didn't really expect it to be so small.Īs you'd expect from a motion control device, there really isn't much to see. I was convinced that the Leap Motion was just another set of headphones that I was expecting (and am still waiting for) for review. Because I have products sent to me for review, sometimes by my co-workers without my knowledge, I often have no idea what is in a box until I open it. Hey, when I motorcycle goes on sale, you don't wait for Christmas or your birthday to roll around, you just buy it.īut I digress. I pretty much know what I'm getting mostly because I bought it over summer and told my wife, "This'll count for Christmas." Like most adults, I've long given up hoping for "surprises" for Christmas. I get so many things in for review that it often feel like Christmas to me. But for automating tasks or as a unique way or interacting with your computer, it is certainly a rousing success. But the mundane tasks like closing windows or selecting text are much more tedious with the Leap Motion. It is certainly capable of doing anything you'd need with your computer. If I had to use the Leap Motion exclusively, I could. The real question becomes "is the Leap Motion a substitute for X" where X=trackpad/mouse/whatever. But even at my desk, I'll occasionally lean forward and the Leap Motion will sense my head (or hat) and the cursor will move. Since that trip, I've adjusted the Interaction Height a number of times (I normally use the Leap Motion when seated) so that has helped. This never presented any sort of real "problem" as in them closing something or switching applications, but it showed a limitation of the technology. Every time a person would walk by, the Leap Motion would sense them and my cursor would go careening across the screen. At my aforementioned Starbucks trip, I was sitting on the end of a counter. While this gives you a lot of area (and is great when you are standing rather than sitting), it can present problems. One of the selling points of the Leap Motion is the large sensing area. With practice, you can become very accurate and proficient with it but it does take some commitment on your part. While many of the motions are familiar, performing them in the air is completely new. I would guess that if you tried the Leap Motion, your "fears" would be at first confirmed but then later you'd realize that it was more a learning curve issue. If you are the skeptical sort, you probably have a bunch of questions about how well it senses your fingers. Using the Leap Motion preferences, you can set a number of variables including Interaction Height, tracking settings (for precision or speed), and go through troubleshooting. You can even use a pointer of some sort (like a pencil) which it "sees" just fine. You can use multiple fingers or motions to interact with the Leap Motion. There is a point where it starts to sense your hand/fingers. While the exact way to interact with your computer can vary wildly by app, the basics are the same. I've also used the Leap Motion in my home theater with all the lights off and no light other than the screen of my laptop and it has had no problems "seeing" my hands. Within a day or two, there was a software update and I noticed a marked improvement in control and sensitivity. I was only near a window so i was a bit surprised. When I received the Leap Motion, it informed me that I had it in a "high light" environment. But the hardware is pretty impressive as well. This means that you may see major upgrades in performance requiring firmware updates rather than expensive hardware purchases. My understanding is that most of the magic of the Leap Motion isn't in the hardware, but in the software. This is the sensory field and where the Leap Motion will be able to sense your hands. I won't pretend to know how it works but, in essence, it creates a large field above, to the sides, and behind it. On the top you'll notice three red lights. So, now that you have the Leap Motion connected, the software downloaded, and the basic apps, how does it work? There is a light on the front that lets you now which shows you that the unit has power and which side is front. But the question remains - how does it actually work in a real world application? Read on to find out. Doesn't that look cool? It sold me and I pre-ordered.
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