are availableover the counter,”Buckwald
says.“Theadvancesherearen’treally inthe
hardware.We’re talking about some very
complicatedmathematics.”
LeapMotion’sdevicehasemergedasone
ofthemosttalked-aboutnewhigh-techgad-
getson themarket. ButBuckwaldexpects
more thanbuzz; he’d like to seehismotion
sensor“changetheworld.”Forthat, though
— for theLeapMotionController tobecome
more than just aniftyway to trashadocu-
mentorslicedigitalfruit—thecompanywill
needhelp,accordingtoMichaelCopeland,a
senioreditorat
Wired
magazine.
“Forthiskindof3-D interfacetobesome-
thingotherthanatechnologicaldetour,you
need tobeable todosomethingcompletely
new,andforthatyouneedanarmyofsmart,
creativedevelopers,”Copeland says. “They
are thepeoplewhowillmake thisnew, fun
andworthourtime.Withouttheirideas,mo-
tion control isn’t the futureof computing.
It’sagimmick.”
Buckwald agrees, which is why Leap
Motionhasdistributed itssensoratnocost
tomore than10,000developersaround the
world and challenged them to dream up
appsforitthatinJulywillbemadeavailable
through thecompany’sapp store,Airspace.
Already they’vehadprogress, andon a re-
cent afternoon atLeapMotion’s offices in
SanFrancisco, Buckwald takes abreak to
showsomeo.Sittingatakeyboardlesscom-
puter,hedabblesatavirtualpotter’swheel,
digginghisfingers intodigital clay tocraft
anelegant3-Dvase.Thatprojectcompleted,
Buckwald calls up another application.
Through it, his computer screenfillswith
schools of frenzieddigital fish. Buckwald
holdsuphishands,andthetipofeachfinger
appearson thescreen, representedbywhat
looks likeanunderwaterspotlight.Thefish
seemstartled.Buckwaldjabsafingertoward
them, and they scatter.Whenhemoveshis
handaway, thefishregroup.
Hismovements are swift, constant and
natural,andsoisthesensor’sreactiontothem.
Buckwaldsmiles.NotexactlyTomCruise
in
MinorityReport
, but verymuch the stu
ofsciencefiction.
“It’simpossibletopredicteverythingthat
willcomeofthis,”hesays.“Butthat’swhat’s
mostexciting— theabsolutecertainty that
thingswill becreated thatwehaven’t even
dreamedofyet.”
JOSHSENS
isanOakland-based freelancerwhohasalso
written for
Men’sJournal
and
TheNewYorkTimes
.
AA.COM/AMERICANWAY
JUNE 01, 2013
39
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