Leap Motion can't fix "broken" Windows 8: Founder

The Leap Motion controller wasn't designed to replace the mouse and keyboard - and nor can it fix Microsoft's "broken OS".

That's according to founder Michael Buckwald, who told us the gesture controller was developed for creative applications, and should be seen as a "secondary peripheral".

"The focus has always been on creation," he said. "The original inspiration was creating 3D models, and it's still true today that the thing we're most passionate about is democratising creative work, and making it fun for people to build things."

On its launch, the Leap Motion Controller was widely criticised - including by us - as not accurate enough for the fine-grain interaction required to navigate an OS. Buckwald explained it was never the plan to pitch the controller as a "mouse killer".

"'Leap as a mouse destroyer' is a really sexy narrative, and it's true over, say, ten years," he agreed. "New operating systems are going to be built and they might be built around interaction paradigms like this, like interacting with a head-mounted display with Leap, and not a mouse."

"But in the case of operating systems like Windows and Mac that have been built and optimised for decades to work with a mouse and keyboard, it may not be possible. And it's not a problem."

"We didn't think people would be buying the device to replace a mouse and keyboard, because most people don't have a problem with a mouse and keyboard," he said - characterising Microsoft's decision to move away from traditional input methods in Windows 8 as a mistake that had left it with a "broken OS".

While HP has begun embedding the controller in laptops and keyboards for use with desktops, Buckwald said Leap Motion is also in talks with OEMs to have it integrated into tablets and mobiles. There, it could be used to interact with a television, for example.

App consistency

One of the company's immediate goals is to make it easier for developers to create apps, and to make them more consistent. Buckwald acknowledged that one current problem with Leap Motion apps is the variety of different input methods and cursors, meaning users have to learn a new set of controls for each app.

Buckwald is looking to make things "more standardised", but will only make suggestions rather than dictate to developers how they must use the system, saying he'd prefer to keep it a relatively open platform.

"We're at the beginning of something, and we don't have all the answers," he said. "We know what doesn't work, but we don't necessarily know what the best thing is."

Firmware

Buckwald also revealed that the Leap Motion Controller would receive a firmware update next year, free for all owners of the device. This will enable the device to see more points on the hand, to recognise when fingers pass over each other, and to understand motions such as pinching.

The update will also add the ability to pull in the image of the user's hand and give a visual representation of their interactions, hopefully making the device more intuitive to use.

The update will be backwards compatible with existing apps, and should improve the experience and accuracy across the board, he said.

This article originally appeared at pcpro.co.uk