The technology for Leap Motion was first developed in 2008, while co-founder David Holz was studying for a Ph.D. in mathematics.[3][4] Holz co-founded the company with Michael Buckwald in 2010.[2] The company raised a $1.3M seed financing round in June 2011 with investments from venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, and SOSV, as well as several angel investors.[5] In May 2012, Leap Motion announced a $12.75M Series A funding round led by Highland Capital Partners.[6] In January 2013, Leap Motion announced a further series B round of funding for $30M.[7]
After operating in quiet since 2010, Leap Motion publicly announced its first product, originally called The Leap, on May 21, 2012. The company launched a software developer program in October 2012[8] and distributed roughly 12,000 units to developers interested in creating applications for the device. While the device was slated to launch in May 2013, full-scale shipping was later delayed until July.[9] In March 2014, it was reported in TechCrunch that roughly 500,000 units had been sold, far short of initial expectations; as a result, Leap Motion announced layoffs for 10 percent of its workforce, primarily in sales and marketing.[10]
On April 7, 2014 COO Andy Miller left the company.[11] In May 2014, Leap Motion released its version 2 software to developers in a public beta.[12][13][14] In August 2014, the company launched a VR tracking mode for its core software, designed to provide hand tracking while the device is mounted on virtual reality headsets such as the Oculus Rift.[15][16]Later that year, Leap Motion launched a global game jam in partnership with independent games festival IndieCade with over $75,000 in prizes. The competition received over 150 submissions.[17] A second competition in 2015 resulted in 189 entries.[18]
In March 2015, it was announced that the upcoming OSVR Hacker Development Kit would include an optional faceplate with embedded Leap Motion module.[19] In February 2016, Leap Motion released new software, called Orion, built specifically for VR.[20]
The Leap Motion controller is a small USB peripheral device which is designed to be placed on a physical desktop, facing upward. It can also be mounted onto a virtual reality headset. Using two monochromatic IR cameras and three infrared LEDs, the device observes a roughly hemispherical area, to a distance of about 1 meter. The LEDs generate pattern-less IR light[27] and the cameras generate almost 200 frames per second of reflected data.[28] This is then sent through a USB cable to the host computer, where it is analyzed by the Leap Motion software using "complex maths" in a way that has not been disclosed by the company, in some way synthesizing 3D position data by comparing the 2D frames generated by the two cameras.[29][30] In a 2013 study, the overall average accuracy of the controller was shown to be 0.7 millimeters.[31]
The smaller observation area and higher resolution of the device differentiates the product from the Kinect, which is more suitable for whole-body tracking in a space the size of a living room.[32] In a demonstration to CNET, the controller was shown to perform tasks such as navigating a website, using pinch-to-zoom gestures on maps, high-precision drawing, and manipulating complex 3D data visualizations.[32]
Leap Motion initially distributed thousands of units to developers who are interested in creating applications for the device. The Leap Motion controller was first shipped in July 2013.[9] In February 2016, Leap Motion released a major beta update to its core software. Dubbed Orion, the software is designed for hand tracking in virtual reality.[33
In December 2013, Founders Fund and SOSV announced the LEAP.AXLR8R, a business accelerator for startups making innovative use of the Leap Motion controller.[35][36] Projects emerging from the accelerator included Diplopia (now Vivid Vision), a tech startup using the Leap Motion Controller and Oculus Rift for lazy eye sufferers,[37][38][39] and MotionSavvy, which is developing a Leap Motion-equipped tablet case that can interpret American Sign Language.[40][41]
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