The Ontarion - What The Tech?

New computing technology takes the fiction out of science fiction

It is a scene common to movies and TV shows set in the future: the protagonist pulls up some kind of computer interface with just a movement of their hands in thin air, and then proceeds to type, zoom and otherwise navigate cyberspace with hand gestures towards a translucent holographic screen in mid-air. It is a staple of science fiction and the unrealistically advanced crime labs of some otherwise contemporary forensics dramas. Following in the footsteps of other inventions pioneered by the imaginations of science fiction writers (cell phones, submarines, the International Space Station, to name but a few examples), these high tech computer navigation methods may soon be reality.

A technology company called Leap Motion has announced that it has developed a device that would enable computers to be controlled by finger movement rather than a traditional keyboard and mouse.? Currently only available for pre-order, the iPod-sized controller works in a manner not unlike the Xbox Kinect and similar game systems.? The difference is that while these games track movement generally, Leap Motion?s device is purportedly capable of tracing finger movements to an incredibly precise 1/100th of a millimeter.? According to the company?s website, this makes it 200 times more accurate than any existing product.

With obviously practical applications for gaming, graphic design, and 3D design, software enabled with Leap Motion compatibility would allow a touch-free computing experience virtually straight out of the movies. It could allow touch-free sign-offs on deliveries or credit card payments, doing away with those bulky stylus devices used to collect signatures digitally nowadays. More importantly, it could allow surgeons to access medical data on the fly without worrying about cross-contamination from touching computer keyboards.

This innovation brings us halfway to the fancy computer interfaces of futuristic movies.? All we need now is to develop a fancy holographic screen that can be summoned in mid-air.? As it turns out, this sort of technology essentially exists already.? It is really the relatively simple matter of combining the two that stands in the way of taking the fiction out of science fiction.

Source: http://www.theontarion.com/2013/01/what-the-tech-13/

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