Approach #2: Leap Motion

Introduction to Leap Motion

Leap Motion (now part of Ultraleap) is a small device designed specifically for hand tracking in VR and desktop applications. My interest in this technology began when my lecturer introduced it during one of our classes on interactive systems.

The device looked promising for several reasons:

• It's specifically designed for hand and finger tracking
• It has a relatively affordable price point
• It offers integration with Unity through official SDKs
• It doesn't require the user to wear anything

These features made it seem like an ideal fit for Sign Pals, which needs to accurately track hand positions and finger movements to recognize sign language gestures.

Getting My Hands on the Hardware

After learning about the device, I was eager to test it with my sign language detection system. Fortunately, my lecturer was kind enough to lend me a Leap Motion unit to experiment with. This saved me the expense of purchasing specialized hardware just for testing purposes—a significant advantage when working on a student project with limited resources.

Having access to the actual hardware allowed me to evaluate its performance firsthand rather than relying solely on documentation or reviews. This hands-on approach is something I've found invaluable throughout this project.

Setting Up Leap Motion with Unity

The setup process involved following the official Unity integration guidelines from the Ultraleap website. This included:

1. Installing the Leap Motion driver software on my development machine
2. Setting up the device in the optimal position
3. Adding the Ultraleap package to my Unity project through the Package Manager
4. Configuring the necessary settings following their documentation

While the documentation was comprehensive, I found the setup process required quite a bit of careful attention to detail to get right.

My Demo

I started by working with one of the examples provided in the Ultraleap Unity package to get familiar with the system. After getting the basics working, I created two small demos to test how the technology might work with sign language detection:

1. Blocks Interaction Demo

Based on one of their sample scenes, I created a simple environment where virtual hands could interact with 3D objects. This helped me understand how the hand tracking data could be used for physics interactions.

2. ABC Sign Language Demo

With help from my lecturer, I developed a more focused test for sign language recognition. We created an interface with alphabet letters arranged in a border layout. The center showed a video demonstration of a sign, and users could pause/play the video while practicing the sign themselves. This demo was invaluable for testing the practical application of the technology for sign language learning.

Limitations and Challenges

Through these demos, I encountered several limitations that made me question whether Leap Motion was the right solution for Sign Pals:

1. Resource Availability: There weren't enough Leap Motion-specific resources tailored to sign language recognition. Most examples focused on general hand tracking or VR interactions, not the precise finger positions needed for sign language.
2. Tracking Inconsistency: Some sign language gestures worked well, but others were problematic due to finger occlusion or specific hand orientations that the device struggled to track.
3. Setup Complexity: The requirement for precise device positioning would make the game less accessible to my target audience, especially in educational settings where complex hardware setup isn't practical.

Evaluations

After several days of testing, I needed to evaluate whether Leap Motion was the right solution for Sign Pals. While the technology was impressive for general hand tracking, it presented specific challenges for sign language recognition:

1. Tracking Volume Constraints: Many sign language gestures require a larger movement space than the Leap Motion's optimal tracking volume provided.
2. Gesture Recognition Complexity: Converting the raw tracking data into reliable sign language letter recognition would require substantial additional development.

Moving Away from Leap Motion

After thoroughly evaluating the Leap Motion technology, I ultimately decided not to use it for my final project. Despite its impressive capabilities for certain applications, the specific requirements of sign language detection made it impractical for my use case.

The key factors in this decision were:

1. Technical limitations
2. Implementation complexity
3. Resource constraints

This decision exemplifies an important aspect of the development process: knowing when to pivot away from a technology that isn't the right fit, even after investing time in exploring it.

Moving Forward

After ruling out Leap Motion, I needed to investigate alternative approaches that would better suit the specific needs of Sign Pals. This experience reinforces a critical lesson in technology selection: sometimes the most sophisticated technology isn't the most appropriate solution for your specific application. The time spent with Leap Motion wasn't wasted effort—it provided valuable insights that informed my subsequent technical decisions and helped clarify the specific requirements for effective sign language detection in my game.