Hello,

There’s an exciting week ahead, with Leap Motion Controller demos around the world. In this week’s newsletter, we have a SXSW roundup, several new apps from your community, and simple tips for coding your Leap Motion app. Plus, we’re starting our launch countdown.

8 Weeks to Launch

With less than 2 months until launch, now is the time to start thinking about your Airspace app. In the next few days, we’ll be opening up app submissions. We encourage you to submit soon to be in the store for our launch. What will you create? How will your app change the world? Let us know in Projects & Collaborations.

Featured News

Last Tuesday, we were honored to be awarded the SXSW Interactive Breakout Digital Trend of 2013. We want to thank our developer community for your hard work – spreading the word and creating apps that help realize the Leap Motion Controller’s potential. You guys are amazing, and we couldn’t have done it without you. To see some of our favorite photos and highlights from SXSW, check out our news post.

Forum Highlights

A multidimensional, stereoscopic interface with gesture recognition? It certainly sounds like mad science. Check out MadSci Labs‘ latest crazed creation – a game that allows players to create and play their own drum pads, by drawing basic geometries with their fingers.

Informatic0re recently created a 2-player Java adaptation of Pong for the Leap Motion Controller. It’s funny to think that – even after 40 years – Pong still holds up as the classic example of elegance and simplicity in game design.

Speaking of elegant design, we were impressed to see Gerald Terveen’s recent game Licht, which offers great visual feedback for the Leap Motion Controller. In Licht, rays of light cast shadows on the surrounding walls, illuminating surfaces in real time to let the user know exactly where they are at all times. This strong use of visual feedback helps to create a more immersive and intuitive experience. Without it, users can be left feeling disorientated and frustrated.

Last, but not least, Pierre Semaan has modified the car racing tutorial from Unity3D to be enabled with the Leap Motion Controller. We can’t wait to see more racing apps like this.

Developer Events

Over the next week, members of our development community will be showcasing their Leap Motion Controllers and apps at conferences, festivals, and meetups around the world.

Laval Virtual

Salle Polyvalente, Place de Hercé, Laval, France
March 20–24 
Student developers are able to use the Leap Motion Controller in this year’s Virtual Fantasy competition – with the aim of creating the most compelling 3D real-time experience.

PAX East

Boston Convention and Exhibition Center
March 22–24
Doublefine is showcasing their music-driven game Dropchord – created for the Leap Motion Controller – at PAX East in Boston.

Codemotion 2013 Rome

Department of Engineering, Third University of Rome, Italy
March 23
Gian is giving a talk about rapid game prototyping at this year’s Codemotion Rome, with a demo of the Leap Motion Controller.

Game Developers Conference

San Francisco, CA
March 25–29
Leap Motion will be at the GDC. Keep an eye out for us – we’ll be wearing our stylish Leap Motion T-shirts.

NYC Developer Meetup

NYU-Poly DUMBO Incubator, Brooklyn, NY
March 27 @ 7 p.m.
Developers are holding a meetup in New York City to share ideas and showcase their latest Leap Motion demos. To learn more about the event and confirm your attendance, please RSVP here.

Are you giving a Leap Motion Controller demo? Looking to meet and collaborate with other developers? Post your event notices in the Events & Meetups forum.

Tips and Tricks

Can I submit JavaScript web apps to Airspace?
We support an extensive category list, including a section within Airspace dedicated to Leap-enabled websites. You can check out the full list of Airspace app categories on the About Airspace page.

How do I determine the Circle gesture’s direction?
You can compare the direction of the pointable making the gesture to the normal of the circle. If they are pointing in approximately the same direction, the circle is clockwise. If not, the circle is counter-clockwise.

Can my app distinguish between left and right hands without using the palm position?
Informatic0re presented an innovative solution to this question last week – using the x-values for hand sphere centers. In most cases, values for the left hand are >0, while those for the right are <0. Check out the thread and try it for yourself.