We looked a little at the Leap Motion controller when it was first revealed in May last year. Now it looks like the company has gained a good partner in the shape of ASUS who will be adding the “world’s most accurate 3D motion-control technology” to its high-end notebooks and premium All-in-One Intel Haswell based computers this year.
The Leap Motion controller offers a winning combination of small size, a high degree of accuracy and a reasonable price. Leap describes its technology in a press release announcing the new partnership “Leap Motion's incredible speed and precision are helping fuel its momentum and leadership in the industry. Leap Motion's technology can track movements to 1/100th millimetre - smaller than the tip of a pin - with no visible lag time. The Leap Motion controller has a 150-degree field of view, and tracks individual hands and all 10 fingers at 290 frames per second.”
The motion control interface company sound very pleased to have partnered with ASUS who are enjoying increasing brand recognition recently with a good reputation for quality Notebooks and of course being the manufacturer behind the Google Nexus 7. Leap Motion co-founder and CEO Michael Buckwald said of the deal “This historic partnership with ASUS is an important step in building global adoption of the new computing paradigm Leap Motion's technology offers. We're delighted that ASUS shares our outlook on the future of human/computer interaction.”
Albert Wu, Desktop Division Senior Director at ASUSTek said that his company’s “commitment to innovation” helped the decision to adopt Leap Motion control in the upcoming ASUS devices. He thinks that the new fast and accurate motion control will “truly enhance the experience our customers have with their ASUS devices, opening a world of opportunity for personal use and business, from entertainment to architecture to education.”
Go direct
There is no mention of exclusivity so you may be able to get Leap Motion bundled/built-into other computer manufacturer devices in coming months. Also I’d like to know what’s different for a buyer compared to buying any computer/laptop and getting a Leap Motion controller directly from Leap. The press release says that “ASUS plans to bundle” the controller rather than build it in to its hardware.
You can pre-order a Leap Motion controller now, direct from Leap, for the sum of $82.98 which includes international shipping to the UK. US residents can get it a little cheaper at $75.98 inc ground shipping. Leap informs prospective purchasers that they can cancel the order at any time, your card won’t be charged until shipment and the shipping estimate for the first batch of controllers is “early 2013”.
