Motion controlling is the new in thing with many products hitting the market and companies like Microsoft and Leap Motion working on making it mainstream. Now a new device called The Duo has been introduced that is similar to Leap Motion Controller and Microsoft’s Kinect controller. One thing that makes the The Duo different from other two devices is that it has a DIY twist attached to it and unlike other two devices that are not meant to be modified, it allows users to tinker with itself.
The Duo just like many other great products is currently seeking funding at crowd funding website Kickstarter. As The Duo is a DIY oriented device its makers are allowing users to contribute to the product in such a way that they could pledge more money to get the fully assembled and working device or pledge a fraction of it to get the method of building on themselves including list of components and CAD files. Users can also pledge to The Duo project in order to get the device’s components and assemble them manually.
The Duo 3D motion controller is made of two PlayStation Eye cameras which are essentially the webcam for the PlayStation 3 gaming console. These cameras are used to detect motion. Although these are simple cameras when they are coupled with the tracking software of The Duo they turn into 3D motion sensors and work just like Leap Motion does and accurately detect motion which is translated into signals.
In the demonstration video The Duo is showed working with Windows 8′s gesture based interface and worked fine with the Fruit Ninja game.
While Leap Motion (sells for $79.99) is a great device and sells for a lot less than The Duo and does pretty much everything The Duo is claiming to do, the later certainly appeals to the enthusiasts who wouldn’t mind paying even almost double just to be able to tinker with the device.
If you would prefer The Duo over Leap Motion then be sure to check it out on its official Kickstarter page here.