The future of desktop computing is here. Leap Motion's powerful controller, which lets you control 8 cubic feet of virtual space in front of your computer, is, as promised, impressive. I took it for a test drive at South by Southwest 2013 and can tell you, it feels like the real deal.
I've seen photos and videos of the device before, but didn't realize how small it was until I tried it out for myself. The controller fit in the palm of my hand, and is light and elegantly designed — much like, well, an Apple product. In fact, with its wraparound aluminum body, and black top and rubber base, it'd be easy to mistake the device for one made in Cupertino.
From a hardware perspective, the controller has a proprietary jack on the body that snakes back to the USB port on a user's desktop or laptop. At one point during my hands-on review, one of the Leap Motion execs casually unplugged the working device, handed it to me and then plugged it back in. The software never stopped working.
For Leap Motion, as it turns out, software is key. Company president and COO Andy Miller told me the hardware is merely off-the-shelf components, and that the real magic lies in the controller's powerful software; it enables the infrared cameras in the Leap Motion detector to see a three-dimensional space — down to the millimeter — in front of your computer.
Miller wouldn't give me exact numbers, but said pre-orders for the now $79.99 device are in the “hundreds of thousands.” After playing with it for a while, I can see why.
