HP and Leap Motion close an agreement to bring gesture control to the market

This technology could change the way we interact with computers, in the same way that Apple popularized touch screens since 2007, with the launch of the iPhone, or the introduction of the mouse for the first time in 1983.

HP will begin to market motion sensors Leap Motion alongside your products before deploying the technology directly to your equipment.

The possibility of controlling computers by gestures could be a reality in the market sooner than expected since Hewlett-Packard and the start-up Leap Motion, based in San Francisco, have signed an agreement.

As the largest manufacturer of personal computers and workstations, HP's adoption of this technology could change the way people interact with their computers, in the same way that Apple popularized touch screens since 2007, with the launch of the iPhone, or like when the mouse was first introduced into 1983.

Leap Motion, a company with three years of life and less than 100 employees located in San Francisco, produces sensors the size of a pack of gum that can capture the movement of ten individual fingers with an accuracy of hundredths of a millimeter. These sensors can be connected to any computer and allow the use of applications and software designed to respond to gestures.

Under the new agreement, HP will begin selling Leap Motion motion sensors alongside its products before deploying the technology directly to its PCs, according to both companies. These sensors will be on sale at a price that will be around 80 dollars.

Ron Coughlin, senior vice president of PCs at HP, has been convinced that “Consumers want to reach the next level of creation and interaction with digital content. With the revolutionary control of three-dimensional movements of Leap Motion, HP technology and great applications, let's create amazing user experiences”.

The agreement comes at a time when technology segment manufacturers such as Microsoft, Google and Apple have expressed interest in gesture control.

Andy Miller, COO at Leap Motion and former Apple executive, has assured that technology can improve both leisure and be a practical tool for professionals. Leap Motion has already invited developers to make applications following a model similar to Apple's App Store. Until now, some 50.000 Developers have already written applications that incorporate gesture recognition to simulate musical instruments or even manipulate surgical robots..

Once the technology has broken into PCs, it is expected that it will also extend to tablets and other mobile devices.. “In the future, We will verify that this technology will be present in a wide range of devices”, Miller stated..

Even if implemented in a limited number of models, Gesture control can mean important changes for HP, a restructuring company struggling to maintain its significant market share in the competitive personal computer market. HP has recorded a drop of 24% in PC sales in the first three months of 2013, although, definitely, maintains the first position in the world with the 15,7% of market share. In general, PC sales fell 14% during the same period, meaning the biggest drop in two decades of records, according to data managed by International Data Corporation (IDC).

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_d6KuiuteIA[/youtube]