The Leap Motion has been available for some time now and was in fact the first tracking solution for those wanting to see their hands in virtual reality. However, following the release of the consumer-grade headsets from Oculus and HTC, it was found that mounting the tracker on them wasn’t very easy. Fortunately, Leap has now released a new mounting kit making it possible to add all sorts of hand-tracking nuances to your virtual experiences.
Unlike the wand controllers of the HTC Vive and Oculus’ unreleased Touch controllers, Leap Motion uses camera tracking to put your hands and digits into the game. That means it can offer individual finger tracking, letting you perform much more complicated gestures and motions within the game. Of course there is no physical feedback for the player, but for waving or gesturing it’s a perfect solution.
And now you can use that solution with your consumer-release Vive and Rift. Although the new shape is aimed at the new release hardware, it will still work with older developer kits too, thanks to its use of a strong adhesive for mounting.
The new offering doesn’t stop with support for Rifts and Vives though. The new mounting kit is called the Universal mount for a reason. It’s also compatible with the new OSVR open source project and Tom’s has it that Leap has hinted of other partnerships with headset makers, with the goal being the incorporation of Leap motion into the design of the headsets themselves.
Along with the new Leap Motion mount, the developers are including a 15ft USB cable, so that you can hook it up to your PC, though bear in mind that means there will be another cable trailing across your floor. It is long enough to cater to both the Rift and Vive, though, regardless of where in your virtual space you step.
You can buy the new universal VR mount from the Leap store for $20, and there is a limited-time offer for the mount and the Motion sensor itself, going for $75.
