June 2013 American Way Magazine - page 34

I
in real time towithinone-hundredthof a
millimeterofaccuracy.
The technology’sfidelity to the smallest
movements allows for unprecedentedpre-
cision.WithLeapMotion’sdevice, youcan
sweep, point, grabandpickupobjects,ma-
nipulating them formyriadpursuits from
constructinga3-Dmodeltoplayingavirtual
instrument to shaping a vase on a digital
potter’swheel. Buckwald sees adaywhen
the controllermight beusedbymicrosur-
geons tocarryoutprocedureswith theaid
ofroboticassistants.
 2002,‚ƒ„ „†‡ˆ‚„‰„ ˆŠ„‹Œ„‡Ž’ˆ‘‹’
MinorityReport first appearedat the local
multiplex,MichaelBuckwaldwas 13years
old—barelyoldenough towatch themovie
without adult supervisionbut old enough
to remember its most striking scene. In
it, TomCruise plays a futuristic copwho
scrolls through video evidence of a crime
usingnothingbuthandgestures tocontrol
the images.
Buckwaldstillrecallshowthatcinematic
moment stirred thewild frontiers of his
imagination,withitsflashypromiseofacool,
high-techtomorrow.
Hewaited.Andhewaited.Andhewaited
—asdidmanyothers.
Tomorrow, it turnedout, wasmoredis-
tantthanhethought.
“It’s likeflyingcars,”Buckwaldsays. “We
have a great desire to see theworld that
we’vebeenpromised.Andweget very frus-
tratedwhen ittakesso longforthatworldto
comealong.”
To hear Buckwald tell it, though, that
future, long stalled, has finally arrived in
the form of a San Francisco startup that
he foundedwith a childhood friend. The
companyisLeapMotion,andBuckwald,now
24, is itsCEO, overseeingabusinessbenton
doingwhat themouseoncedid: revolution-
izingthewayweinteractwithcomputers.
At theheart of theventure is a tinymo-
tion sensor that connects to a computer
via aUSBport, allowing auser to control
what happens on the screenwith aflickof
a finger or thewave of a hand. Like other
motion trackers on themarket, the Leap
MotionController,which isduetohitretail
shelves nextmonth, has immediate gam-
ing applications (already, you can sliceba-
nanas on FruitNinja asnever before). But
its potential, Buckwald says, extends far
beyond that.Unlikepopularmotion track-
ers likeMicrosoftKinect,which responds
tofull-bodymovements(making it ideal for,
say, dancegames), theLeapMotion sensor
locks inon thefingers, trackingall 10digits
LOOKINGAHEAD: Michael Buckwald, co-founder
andCEOof LeapMotion, hasgranddreams for the
futureof technology inall of our lives.
TECHNOLOGY
ª «¬ˆƒ ®„ ˆ
Šƒ¬‚¬Ž‡†Šƒ Œ ¯„‘‘ ˆ Ž„‡
The
Future
IsHere
Forget the touch screen. The
newestway tooperateyour
computer?Gesturecontrol via
LEAPMOTION.
36 JUNE 01, 2013 AA.COM/AMERICANWAY