Leap Motion uses AR table tennis to demo North Star headset

After revealing and open-sourcing its DIY $100 North Star augmented reality headset, Leap Motion has created a compelling reason to actually assemble one yourself — AR table tennis. A new demo video shows a person competing against a virtual opponent, using only one real paddle and a Ping-Pong table.

The demo evokes memories of the classic game Pong, which helped Atari create the entire video game industry. Just like Pong, the Leap Motion player takes control of a paddle, swatting at a virtual ball as an AI-controlled paddle awaits and returns shots. But here, the ball appears to be an actual 3D object, leaving a light trail as it moves through space, and the AI opponent is programmed to offer only humanly possible returns.