Leap Motion Goes Mobile

[khan08]

Hi Alex, I have been following Leap motion for a while now and its great to see that you guys are getting into VR in a big way.

You said that currently Leap motion is working with OEMs who want to integrate your technology into their platforms. Well, what about offering your hardware/software license to startups and other non-established players? I ask this because currently we are developing an "inside-out" head tracking solution and we would like to integrate Leap motion's hand tracking technology into a low-cost mobile based VR headset.

If you think that there is any room for collaboration, then please let me know. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this!

[AlexColgan]

When it comes to making our mobile technology available, we are still scoping out the best way to scale from few to many. Would love to know more about your tracking solution! Shoot me an email at acolgan@leapmotion.com.

[Philtering]

There are still some improvements that can be made in the way the apps are surfaced for the end user to access easily.

[PLeoncini]

If you want to hold on serving the professional vr application market using PC-tethered maybe you should also think to make the current model wireless.
In order to go wireless (in a VR-mounted config) we are experimenting with a small pocket windows-based mini-pc running the Orion software so to only send high-level derived hand data via wi-fi.
The newly announced LM mobile platform is of course a very good new in the wireless direction. In principle, the current model is pluggable into a usb-in of an android phone, yet I never had the chance to access the Android alpha software and can't imagine about performances. The new model is accredited of 10x perfs/consumption/etc. so is much more suited for the task, yet it doesn't seems easily pairable to a Vive or such.
Please just take these thoughts as a stimulus to a bigger picture including pc-tethered wireless setups.

[clairewilliams]

hey there i was wondering when or how i can download the mobile app software please xx

[AlexColgan]

@PLeoncini Wireless support has definitely been a frequent request, though when it comes to any PC-tethered experience we don't think attaching the additional cord to the main cord is a serious barrier to usage. We're aware of the Vive wireless add-on but to be honest it's still too niche for us to dedicate serious engineering resources to it. Any solution would also necessarily involve new accessory hardware.

@clairewilliams Not ready yet, but stay tuned You can subscribe for updates at developer.leapmotion.com/android

[dsanjit]

@AlexColgan We plan to either use the Qualcomm 835 based reference headset or the R9 ODG to develop a VR?AR based financial/trading application. We use UE4(Not Unity!) but are also looking at our own C++ 3D framework. And using hand tracking is key ! My question is what is the best setup so that we can take full advantage of Orion ?

[AlexColgan]

Sounds interesting! Would strongly recommend looking at our LeapC documentation since you would want to bind to that when the time comes: https://developer.leapmotion.com/documentation/LeapC/index.html

[TheBricktop]

Hey Alex,

with the new hardware being made specifically for mobile vr and augmented reality apps, are You thinking about including some sort of egomotion estimation (visual odometry) or SLAM for tracking the head position in VR environments?
This would be immenseley important in a lot of virtual/augmented scenarios.

[AlexColgan]

That's actually what Qualcomm has done with their 835 platform; we were integrated into their reference design to provide the hand tracking.

[lizzard414]

Alex any projections as to when the Android Release will be? No promises, just an estimate?

[AlexColgan]

Unfortunately that's not something I'm able to share, since it's tied to hardware releases from our OEM partners.

[dsanjit]

Hi When can we get support for Google Daydream headsets? Is there an early Beta that we can try?

Sanjit

[jgwinner]

It would be fantastic if there were a stand-alone sensor, that could connect via bluetooth or even USB via adapters. People could order it separately. I realize that not all phones / headset combinations may allow a bracket, but the level of most viewers now, it wouldn't be any worse if it was just a velcro patch

Also, this would give a way for software developers to work with it. You could even call the stand alone module the "DEV Kit" and I'm sure a ton of enthusiasts would buy it.

== John ==

[bbendle]

When is the MobileSDK going to be available?
I thought I had access to the alpha, but can't find the email or message any longer..

[AlexColgan]

The mobile SDK will be available once the new hardware is available. But if you previously had access, you should still. Can you DM me the email address you used to register for it?

[thenakedphysio]

Hi Alex

Can I just confirm that with leap motion going mobile, are you talk any mobile phone that runs android? So say a samsung galaxy S7?

Also is it possible to have access to the android alpha software if available as I intend to use the software with my team for healthcare uses.

Cheers

Paul

[AlexColgan]

Not any phone that runs Android, but high-end Android phones, yes.

The SDK will require our new embedded hardware, and will be made available when ready.

[thenakedphysio]

Thanks for that Alex

One final question you refer to the SDK requiring new embedded hardware. Does this mean that your current leap motion hardware will not work with upper end mobile phones once the SDK is ready?

[AlexColgan]

Yes, the new hardware is needed for Android development due to the Leap Motion Controller's high demands on mobile processors and batteries.