Virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus are a big step towards making gaming experiences much more immersive. But one downside to VR is it leaves us incredibly disconnected when we can only interact with the world through a controller.
Now Leap Motion is stepping in to fix this problem with a new $20 (about £12, AU$21) mount that lets users attach their motion sensor bar to the front of a VR headset. Similar to using the motion tracking peripheral on a desk, the headset-mounted Leap Motion will sense users' hands and record their gestures when they reach out in front of them.
The motion tracking company announced the new peripheral with an accompanying video demo showing the Leap Motion will generate a wire frame of users hands.
On top of detecting where users' hands and individual finders are, users will be able to affect the virtual world using just their hands. A few examples in the video included pushing balls around and flying though virtual space with your hands out as if you were Superman.
The way forward
Along with the new head turning (literally) way of mounting your Leap Motion to a VR headset, the company also announced releasing a new beta SDK for developers to come up with new ways to use its peripheral from a head-mounted position.
Within time the company hopes programmers will come up with new ways to integrate VR and motion tracking closely together.
Leap Motion also teased it's working on a new prototype sensor, codenamed Dragonfly, which will be embedded in future headsets by VR headset makers. Dragonfly also purportedly features a number of upgrades including beyond HD image resolution, color as well as infrared imagery and a wider field of view.
With this pair up it seems VR will be the key to seeing the virtual world while Leap Motion sits in front to reconnect users with the real world around them.
