Leap Motion has announced a partnership with HP to embed their motion-control technology into select devices. The deal has reportedly been in the works for over a year and represents a major milestone for the San Francisco-based startup that will move it closer to the masses -- HP is still the largest PC manufacturer by shipping volume, after all. For the latter the deal is also an opportunity to add something new to the mix as it continues to bleed market share and PC sales continue to dwindle accross the industry.
The press release didn't specifically mention which devices are getting the technology built-in, but before that happens HP will start selling Leap Motion bundles alongside several of its products starting in the summer. The latter is similar to another OEM bundling deal the company has in place with Asus.
In either case machines will come pre-loaded with Leap Motion’s Airspace App Store, something the company is touting as a major opportunity for the developer community to gain a large audience.
It's unclear what kind of premium HP is going to charge for devices embedded or bundled with Leap Motion’s technology. The stand alone sensor, which is slated for release in May, is currently available for pre-order for $79.99 from LeapMotion.com, BestBuy.com (for U.S. only), and Amazon.uk for United Kingdom customers.
As a refresher, Leap Motion is like a Kinect on steroids. The system creates a three-dimensional interaction space roughly eight cubic feet in size, in which it can recognize a wealth of different gestures from hand movements or other objects with surprising accuracy. The company says it’s technology is more than 200 times more accurate than Microsoft’s motion-sensing gaming accessory while costing significantly less.
