This is a bit sad but inevitable. They were trying to cover so much ground and execute to perfection. Whatever lead they had shrank with time and advances on fronts outside the hw and core dev may not see the light of day.
I purchased one of the first LeapMotion devices, and I was not terribly impressed with the performance and returned it. Not sure whether the IP has much value with Google's Soli [1] project seeming to be further ahead.
For what it's worth, the performance improved quite a bit with subsequent firmware updates. It was quite a remarkable device that impressed anyone I let try it, but finding a mass-market use-case proved impossible. They tried to pivot to VR, but it was very late. I think going after the consumer market (with an app store to be filled with games) was a mistake. Easy to say in hindsight, of course.
> the performance improved quite a bit with subsequent firmware updates.
But it didn't improve enough to be useful for anything practical. The most useful thing I could make it do reliably was detect swiping your hand left and right. I was really hoping I could use it as a mouse replacement on laptops, but accurately tracking individual finger placement never materialized.
That's too bad. I do hope someone continues to develop immersive AR rather than the AR/VR split we have how. ML should have been iterating on a platform and improvements to speed, FoV, etc. Feel sorry for the employees who really believed they would change the world. Note to self: be cautious of companies with 'magic' in name or operating in isolation.
Oh thanks Sorry. I remember them too the air fingers. Also a great idea. The latency and sometimes loss of virtual digits was quirky but I did have hopes it would get incorporared into a VR hmd. 30m is better than bust.
