Leap Motion refines finger tracking for precise control

Leap Motion's newest motion-tracking software just got much more precise. Today, the company released its Version 2 (V2) software to developers in a public beta. The update allows developers to create applications that can make use of very subtle finger and joint movements.

The previous version of the Leap Motion software was already impressive in its motion-sensing magic. Its hardware -- a pack-of-gum-sized device -- uses infrared sensors to track finger and hand movements and turn them into input gestures. Version 1 of the software supported an array of finger, hand, and knuckle gestures -- you could also make a "grabbing" motion to select and move parts of the onscreen interface.

You can still do all of that with the V2 software, but now individual joints and bones can be mapped to specific input rules. For example, developers can create software that translates a movement of the index finger knuckle as a completely different input than a movement of the middle finger knuckle. Onscreen items can react and be manipulated by intricate hand gestures such as pinches and two-handed sculpting movements; you can map gestures like "grab" and "pinch" via Leap Motion's API.

As Leap Motion's first video of V2 in action shows, this could mean incredible things for the world of computer-generated animation. The video shows how the V2 software recognises individual hand, fingers, joints, and bones through its "Visualiser" mode; you can compare its more-granular skills to the previous version of the software in this video. When those more-intricate gestures are mapped to an animated set of Mickey-Mouse-like hands, the on-screen results are incredibly smooth and lifelike.

If you already have the Leap Motion hardware, the good news is that the V2 beta software is a free update that will work with existing units. In addition to the more-robust motion-tracking capabilities, Leap Motion has also made the hardware less sensitive to ambient-light interference in the software update.

Watch Youtube: Leap Motion V2 Tracking Developer Beta - Demo

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