Hand tracking has the ability to offer even more lifelike virtual reality (VR) experiences by removing controllers and simply engaging your hands directly. When it comes to this type of technology Leap Motion is one of the more well-known companies, manufacturing a small USB powered device that goes on the front of devices to track users hands. Clay AIR Inc. is another working in the same field but taken a different approach, developing gesture recognition software that’s hardware-agnostic.
Clay AIR has announced a collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to provide OEMs with interaction technology to accelerate adoption of augmented reality (AR) and VR devices.
Thanks to the software being hardware-agnostic, Clay AIR works with several types of hardware inputs, individually or together like 2D RGB Cameras, near infrared (IR), TOF sensors and Fisheye cameras, making it compatible with a range of headsets.
“We are at the very beginning of an exciting shift in the way that we interact with devices,” said Thomas Amilien, Co-Founder and CEO of Clay AIR in a statement. “Users will soon be able to use their own hands to interact in real time with virtual reality, without the continuous need for handheld controllers, all with the help of our hand tracking software.”
“Transforming the AR & VR industry, enabling the ecosystem and our customers, continues to be Qualcomm’s priority and Clay AIR’s solution embodies that,” Hiren Bhinde, director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Innovations like Clay AIR’s software are rapidly propelling the AR & VR industry and opening new possibilities for OEMs, developers, and consumers.”
The problem hand tracking has had is its lack of consistency, breaking immersion when the tracking glitches or you lose a finger. Clay AIR will be demoing its technology on the Qualcomm stand during CES 2019 next month in Las Vegas. VRFocus will be there at the event to report on all the new tech being showcased, and will take a look at Clay AIR to find out if its hardware-agnostic solution works as well as promised.