Have you ever attempted to create a simple sketch or painting on your desktop computer? I’m sure you can attest to the inability of your device to replicate the experience of drawing with pencil and paper — computers simply lack the same precision and it ultimately takes twice the time unless you’re an experienced designer.

Now imagine if you could mould a sculpture or create a painting on your computer with the same simplicity and ease as creating the piece in real life. By allowing you to utilize all 10 fingers with a precision up to 1/100th millimetre, the new Leap Motion technology capitalizes on the inherent precision, dexterity, and delicateness of human hands and fingers: for the first time, consumer technology will seamlessly integrate the innate functionality of the human body with our devices.

Intrigued? It’s hard not to be! Check out this video for a short product demo of Leap Motion technology.

But what exactly are the implications of Leap Motion for the future of content creation and consumption? At its core, Leap Motion enables digital content manipulation in ways that were previously impossible. Reading, swiping, zooming, pinching, flicking, highlighting, and browsing will be possible without the need to touch anything. Ultimately, this technology completely breaks apart and redefines consumers’ experience with technology and content.

As the adoption of motion-sensored technology increases, content will likely become even more interactive and visual. We’re already seeing the trend towards visual content with popular apps such as Pinterest and Flipboard, but technology such as Leap will make visual content even more imperative. Ultimately, instead of the passive experience we currently have when reading print or digital content, Leap technology creates a truly interactive experience that allows viewers to engage and manipulate content like never before. While Leap Motion’s technology will begin with desktops, CEO Michael Buckwald says he would “like to see [Leap] eventually embedded in tablets and projectors and appliances and cars. And in the future maybe even in things like head-mounted displays. Anywhere there’s a computer, we’d love to see Leap.”

Leap Motion is currently taking pre-orders and is set to ship on May 19. In the meantime, begin saying your farewells to the current state of books, blogs, websites, and TVs because content as we know it is about to be disrupted.

About the Author

After graduating from the HBA program at the Richard Ivey School of Business, Aaliyah launched her career as Marketing Coordinator at Uberflip! Prior to her HBA, Aaliyah also completed a Bachelor in English at Western University.

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