Leap Motion takes a step forward in the virtual reality game with Orion, a hardware and software solution that allows people to use their hands on the platform without a controller.
Considering how popular virtual reality has been lately, it's only natural for someone to make this stride, not to mention that Leap Motion could very well be the best candidate to do so because of the company's work in hand-tracking technology.
While advancements on the platform have been more than impressive so far, they have had certain limitations in terms of controls. To put things into perspective, Oculus needs the Touch controllers, and HTC requires the wands, but Orion doesn't need any tool like those to grab, move and create objects in the virtual reality realm.
"The holy grail of virtual reality is a sense of total presence and immersion. With Orion, we're enabling developers and OEMs to create that type of experience. People can use their own hands and fingers to interact with digital content in VR with the same ease and nuance they use in the real world," Michael Buckwald, CEO and co-founder of Leap Motion, says.
On the developer side of things, Leap Motion has made its beta software available.
The company says that the Orion features "radically improved hand and finger tracking," as it can track faster and farther with lower latency and "in situations where no previous software could keep up."
Taking a look back at the Leap Motion Controller, it came as a well-rounded motion-sensing tech that delivered its purpose. However, 2013 was hardly the right time to roll out such a device. To put it differently, it wasn't something that could be added to the traditional keyboard-mouse combo.
Before all this new development materialized, the OSVR is the only headset that sported the motion sensors of Leap Motion, where the company partnered up with Razer to make it happen. However, it's only available as an optional tool for it.
Leap Motion is going to need the support of OEMs to get things off the ground and make a huge splash in the virtual reality market, where it's reportedly in talks with several hardware manufacturers already.
At any rate, Orion seems great, and it's unlikely that no one will want to adopt the hand-tracking technology.
Hit up the footage below to see what Leap Motion has in store for every virtual reality enthusiast out there.
