Motion control systems may not be the newest kid on the tech block, but the technology has plenty of room for improvement.
Exvision, an entity rolled out of University of Tokyo’s Ishikawa-Watanabe Lab, is looking to crowdfund its attempt to push the tech forward with its own motion sensing camera, the Zkoo. For $60, Kickstarter backers will get a Zkoo unit with a suggested retail price of $120. It’s compatible with Windows and Android devices (no support for iOS … yet).
The secret to Zkoo’s accuracy isn’t necessarily in the hardware, which is composed of all off-the-shelf parts, but algorithm. It enables the software to capture and analyze the content of 120 frames a second. This software also allows the Zkoo to accurately recognize several different types of hand gestures, and it can use to navigate most touch-based user interfaces.
I saw a demo last month, and the Zkoo was surprisingly accurate at tracking my hands at around 6 feet to 7 feet. It made chopping produce in Fruit Ninja easy. It also allowed me to paint in thin air and move elements in a document around by just waving my hands.
Exvision’s Zkoo Kickstarter campaign is looking to pass a $15,000 funding goal by January 17, and it claims to target shipping of the cameras that quarter.