Leap Motion: Some Early Reflections
In many ways, I love this little device! It offers a very different way of interacting with a computer compared with the usual mouse/trackpad/trackball/tablet approach. However, I think there are a couple of key areas that need development. One area is the lack of standardization about what certain gestures mean. For example, does tilting your hand so something expected? In the molecule app, I find that certain things (zooming, for example) the behaviour is the opposite of what I would expect (reaching toward the screen makes the object go further away). Another area that needs consideration is the ability to tune the sensitivity. I continue to be frustrated using the Leap Motion with Google Earth, where the globe spins wildly out of control and I can’t quite figure out how to navigate where I want to. I’m also noticing that my hands tend to cramp up a bit when I’m using the device: perhaps I’m trying too hard!
I keep hoping that the leap, perhaps combined with some other hardware, can address some of the challenges raised by Bret Victor in his Brief Rant On The Future Of Interaction Design. But that’s just a dream for now.
Next steps: I’m going to wire up, via software, some Javascript-based interactions with the Leap Motion. To start with, I’m going to use three.js to render some 3D landscapes and then see what I can do with the Leap. Stay tuned!