Motion Technology: How Realistic Is It?

Leap Motion recently announced the release of their device, which allows those using it to have their gestures control basic movements. The obvious appeal of these types of technologies is the ability to use your body to control things on your computer. While this is certainly enticing, it breaches the basic relationship between a user and their hardware device, in this case your computer. Quite literally, the user becomes a part of their machine. No longer a passive relationship, your actions directly translate to a hardware device.

As a programmer, it is really hard for me to digest and think about these sort of technologies as anything butdisruptive. They are removing the essential pieces of a traditional relationship with a device and changing the landscape forever. We, as users, will no longer be able to actively participate in our relationships with our devices.

Thalmic Labs has a similar device in their MYO armband, which allows the user to control the movements of any device with an armband attached to their arm.

With the rise of these gesture control devices, comes a whole new level of interaction with not only users but our computers. As the API’s for both devices become more widely adopted, our perceptions of applications will change as well. The debate between HTML5 and native apps will be obsolete.

How realistic is it to say that these companies have disrupted the app industry beyond repair?

Only time will tell.