This is the iMotion, a controller concept by Intellect Motion. It’s a mouse, that you hold in the air, which doubles as a motion-sensor, and triples as a means of getting haptic feedback.
All of which sounds awfully ambitious, not to mention tiring (holding the thing in the air for prolonged use doesn’t look ideal), but it’s as an Oculus Rift control aid that the iMotion starts to look a lot more practical.
A problem the OR is going to face, especially in genres with established control schemes already in place, is how you’re going to move around and interact without breaking the immersion the headset provides.
This is one of the better ideas I’ve seen. Not perfect, but…better.
iMotion — 3D motion controller with haptic feedback [Kickstarter, via GamesBeat]
Comments
5 responses to “The Mouse Of The Future Might Be This Weird Little Thing”
I dunno. If it uses webcams then it has all the line-of-sight problems that other positional trackers have had. I still feel like the Tactical Haptics + STEM combination seems like the best possible solution for these things. Although I guess this could be ok as a cheaper option, since it doesn’t seem quite as pricey as those.
So, it’s a Kinect, with haptic feedback..but you need to where something on your hands? (obviously for the feedback)
Hmmm..
Let’s hope not.
Dear Mouse,
I will always love you.
Yours always,
Mike.
this will have all the problems of a leap motion combined with all the problems of a kinect. Line of sight is just plain terrible. 3D motion of your hands might be useful in games but as a mouse emulator they are hopeless.
I’m not just bashing the technology, I have a leap motion, and I’m thoroughly disappointed with it. It’s a gimmick, nothing more. There are specific situations where the technology has some great potential but it does not replace a mouse. It never will. Translating 3D motion into a 2D space is just awkward and needlessly difficult.