Interesting Projects Update

I really need fewer distractions! Heh, got my focus and attention dragged away to properly reviewing two research papers in HPC (ok, it was my fault I accepted the invitation to review journal articles but hey, I consider it a duty as a member of the HPC scientific community to do it - even if I no longer have any institutional affiliation!).

Anyway, as a quick (partial) update today, here are some of my picks of rather interesting projects out there in the Leap development community over the past few weeks along with some of my own comments:

1. Project PAALM: Phalangeal Angle Approximation through the Leap Motion Controller
http://projectpaalm.blogspot.sg/

This is really neat, and ties in to some of my own perception of the limitations of the device's API as I try to use it for my own work (I don't know how much I am allowed to say in public, so I will avoid saying any).

2. LEAP Motion Head Attachment Experiment - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVopcoxizcY

Again, something I find interesting because as I use the device, I get the feeling it might be more effective a device facing the user's fingers rather than underneath them. That feeling is driven by my perception (I have not studied this in any appreciable detail as yet) that the latter positioning of the device will tend to suffer from more instances where tracked objects disappear, and will need to be re-tracked and identified as the prior objects.

3. Makeblock Robotic Arm with LeapMotion Control - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NqkYsIXkxw&feature=youtu.be

What interests me about this project is the time delay between an action from one's hand and the resulting reaction from the robot arm. In that demo, it is significant. When I project myself into performing those tasks, I find myself conscientiously trying to take those millisecond-level feedback delays into account. This ties in with some of what I want to do - performance measurements associated with the Leap device. There is an expectation of a natural delay built into our brains for the experiencing of visual feedback when we send a signal to the hands to perform a task. How much of a change (ignoring our need for tactile feedback) can our brains tolerate?

4. 3D Printer Finger Painting with Leap Motion - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wLmOkNtuRM&feature=youtu.be&noredirect=1

This is just cool and fun. I don't know if we ought to be painting 3D objects on the fly like that in a real application :)

5. BetterTouchTool
https://airspace.leapmotion.com/apps/bettertouchtool/osx?utm_source=Leap+Motion+Newsletter&utm_campaign=79a109cbe0-Consumer_Newsletter_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f0a6fbd89e-79a109cbe0-60510061

Free app from Airspace. Seems pretty cool. I'll install it to give it a try once I get over my paranoia after the craziness I've experienced after finally successfully getting Mavericks on my other (non work-related) laptop. Too terrified of breaking this laptop, which is far more important to me.

6. TedCas & Leap Motion - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d_Kvl79v6E&feature=youtu.be

Seems like an excellent reason for the use of the Leap device with technology in an operating theater environment. I am typically queasy about using the Leap itself to perform a remote operation via robotics (see my concerns about feedback delay above), but accessing documents and information in that environment using a no-touch system makes perfect sense.

7. Leap Motion Labs - Rapid Prototyping with Vuo
http://labs.leapmotion.com/post/64816899700/rapid-prototyping-with-vuo?utm_source=Leap+Motion+Developer+Newsletter&utm_campaign=0e86281121-Dev_Newsletter_34&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d7eaf93515-0e86281121-60510065

I've not taken a very close look at this yet, but it is interesting to me from a software engineering perspective.