The Somatosensory revolution opens or will liberate users from the mouse

For most computer users, the mouse has been indispensable, we use both hands using the mouse, manipulating the computer has become a habit, and recently, according to foreign media reports, how the computer users from the shackles of the mouse to become a high-profile technology industry staged a new round of the theme of the technological revolution. All of this is inspired by how people and other parts of the body are transformed into digital controllers. And the body sense of the technology revolution will make the mouse into the dust of history.

The purpose of this "somatosensory" technology change is to use human actions instead of traditional mouse or touch-screen operations to manage computers and other devices. Proponents of the technology argue that this approach not only makes it easier to complete many of the existing daily chores, but also to handle tasks such as creating 3D models, looking at clothes matching, training athletes, and browsing medical images during surgery without touching.

A number of giants involved in research and development

This technology trend has been a positive response to some High-tech industry giants, including Microsoft, Apple, Google and television, computers and other hardware manufacturers. Microsoft launched the Kinect gaming peripherals in 2010, sparking a spark of competition in the field of somatosensory technology. Microsoft will upgrade the Kinect software this week so programmers can develop applications for the PC version of the Kinect product.

At the same time, in order to promote the popularity of somatosensory technology, small competitors in this field are developing low priced body-feeling products. A start-up company called Leap Motion will start selling a 69.99 dollar body-feeling product leap this week, allowing users to control desktops and laptops by waving their palms and fingers in the air.

Leap's shape is quite like a box of chewing gum, designed to capture precise movements. Unlike Microsoft's Kinect's ability to track big moves such as waving a tennis racket, Leap Motion says its technology can track a few millimeters of action, so it captures the user's precise actions, such as writing or drawing.

David Holz, chief technology officer of Leap Motion, showed people how leap allows users to perform rotation and zoom operations on a digital spherical controller through one action, while using a mouse or touch screen to do a similar operation requires several steps.

"Leap allows you to truly experience the feeling of interconnectedness," Holz said in a media interview at the company's bunker-style office in San Francisco. In stark contrast, the existing peripherals that control computers are hard to imitate in real life. ”

The body-sensing technology also fails to enhance every interaction with the computer.

Although Apple has not yet publicly announced a body-sensing technology development plan, it has been developing a body-sensing technology in recent years, according to sources. Apple has applied for an invention patent that allows users to manage the 3D interface without touching the screen. Apple declined to comment.

Proponents argue that the combination of somatosensory and voice-activated technologies will give birth to new generations of devices and new applications, such as robots that can identify and interact with humans based on human actions or programmed physical training programs.

attract VCs to intervene

A graphics program developed using LEAP device

The somatosensory technology market is attracting some VC funds to intervene. The Bot Square Inc., headquartered in the California landscape city, has received 1.4 million of dollars in funding from the Anderson-Horowitz Fund (Andreessen Horowitz), NEA and other risk agencies. The company's Flutter app lets users wave their hands over Spotify or itunes music on their computers. Navneet Dalal, chief executive of Bot Square, said the company plans to launch other applications in the near future and support additional nafplion operations.

Leap Motion has also received a total of 14.55 million dollars in investment from Highland Capital, founders Fund, Anderson-Horowitz and other investment agencies.

Microsoft's Windows PC version of Kinect, launched earlier this year, tracks the entire body's movements, but the company says its upgraded software will be able to capture more of the body's joints, such as the head, neck and arms.

Craig Eisler, general manager of Windows Kinect, Eisler that the existing version of Kinect has been downloaded more than 350,000 times by programmers. Its potential applications include helping surgeons browse 3D medical images and provide inexpensive 3D human scanned images.

Other innovations in the field of somatosensory technology are still brewing. Google recently unveiled a specially designed pair of glasses that can provide the wearer with information about the environment that incorporates sensors, speech recognition, and body-sensing control techniques.

Holz, 23, has been developing the technology for leap-feeling products from high school. He said the difficulty of using the mouse to draw 3D objects made him feel very confused.

Holz gave up his PhD program at the University of Northern California and started a venture with Michael Buckwald, a high-school classmate. Over the past 1.5 years, they and the existing 20 employees have been working to upgrade the software and leap product features, and Leap is expected to be available between December and next February this year.

Backwold said Leap motion is negotiating with partners to apply its technology to laptops and other devices.