Motion-Control Maker Leap, Nearing Retail Launch

Leap Motion, maker of impossibly precise motion-control hardware for personal computers, is getting ready for its retail launch by turning its focus toward apps.

After announcing in October its plans to create a yet-unnamed app store where Leap users can purchase and download apps, the company said today that it is shipping out 10,000 Leap units to verified developers, to aid in the creation of more software applications that will broaden the device’s appeal.

If you haven’t seen the Leap in action yet, here’s how it works: All that motion-sensor tech is compressed into a tiny, two-inch device that you place in front of your desktop or laptop keyboard. (Right now, the sensor works with Macs, Windows 7 and Windows 8, with a focus on the latter operating system.) Acting as a kind of mini-Kinect, Microsoft’s popular motion-sensor device, the Leap lets you use your fingers as controls, waving them just a few inches in front of the screen to input, create, shape or play.

Check out the video below for a glimpse of how Leap works with one of the new apps, a Jenga-like game called Block 54:

via AllThingD.com