PandoList: LeapMotion's David Holz On The Future Of Computer Interfaces

PandoDaily
27 Jul 201204:33

TLDRIn this interview, David Holz, co-founder of Leap Motion, reflects on his curiosity as a child and his passion for science, leading to innovative projects. He discusses his frustrations with traditional computer interfaces, which inspired him to create more intuitive solutions like Leap Motion. Holz envisions a future where motion sensing, haptics, and augmented reality evolve significantly, allowing seamless interaction with 3D environments without the need for physical touch. He predicts that in 100 years, technology will enable a fully immersive, interactive experience, blending the digital and real worlds in unimaginable ways.

Takeaways

  • 😀 David Holz was an energetic and curious kid, constantly experimenting with technology, even if it was sometimes dangerous.
  • 🛠️ He loved building things, such as wind tunnels to test paper airplanes, and had ambitions like breaking the sound barrier.
  • 🧪 In middle school, Holz won multiple awards for science fair projects, including one where he sent clocks to different altitudes to demonstrate time dilation.
  • 👨‍💻 The idea for Leap Motion stemmed from his frustration with 3D modeling, where it took much longer to model something digitally than to draw it.
  • 🚀 Holz worked on solving the problem of inefficient computer interfaces, focusing on creating a more natural and intuitive interaction between humans and machines.
  • 💡 Despite early doubts from others, Holz realized his ideas were correct and decided to trust his instincts moving forward.
  • 🌐 Holz envisions that in the far future, human-computer interfaces will evolve with innovations like glasses-less 3D displays and touchless haptics.
  • 🔊 The University of Tokyo's sound-focused haptics are an early glimpse of how touchless interfaces could develop in the future.
  • 🖼️ Holz sees a future where digital content seamlessly integrates with the real world, becoming as interactive and flexible as thought itself.
  • 🎨 He compares the shift from physical painting to digital tools like Photoshop as an analogy for how future interfaces could allow more creative freedom and control.

Q & A

  • What was David Holz like as a child?

    -David Holz was an energetic and curious child who enjoyed taking things apart and experimenting with them.

  • What were some of the dangerous projects David Holz wanted to work on as a kid?

    -David Holz wanted to build wind tunnels and vacuum chambers with compressed air and helium to test aerodynamics and break the sound barrier.

  • How did David Holz's parents ensure his safety while experimenting?

    -David Holz's parents made sure he was the 'safe kid' by not allowing him to work on projects that were too dangerous.

  • What was one of David Holz's notable achievements at the science fair?

    -David Holz won more awards at his county science fair than anyone else, including for projects involving wind tunnels and testing the effects of altitude on time.

  • What was the main frustration David Holz had with 3D modeling that led to the creation of Leap Motion?

    -David Holz was frustrated that it took much longer to create 3D models on a computer than to draw them on paper, due to the lack of a natural interface between him and the computer.

  • What was David Holz's approach after receiving negative feedback on his Leap Motion idea?

    -After receiving negative feedback, David Holz decided to disregard what people told him and continued to work on his Leap Motion idea.

  • What does David Holz envision for computer interfaces in the far future?

    -David Holz envisions a future where computer interfaces are core to everything and seamlessly integrate with many other technologies, possibly including glasses-less 3D displays and touchless haptics.

  • How does David Holz describe the potential of touchless haptics in the future?

    -David Holz mentions that touchless haptics could become more sophisticated, referencing the University of Tokyo's work on focusing sound to create sensations of things that aren't there.

  • What is David Holz's view on the evolution of digital interaction in 100 years?

    -David Holz believes that in 100 years, digital interaction will be more fundamental and flexible, allowing for interactions to be whatever we can imagine, similar to the difference between physical painting and digital editing.

  • What is the main difference between physical and digital creation according to David Holz?

    -David Holz points out that digital creation allows for undoing actions, changing layering, and manipulating elements in ways that are not possible in physical mediums like painting.

Outlines

00:00

🔧 Childhood Curiosity and Inventions

The speaker reflects on their childhood curiosity and love for experimentation. They describe taking apart broken items with screwdrivers and testing electrical currents, often resulting in small explosions. Despite their risky behavior, their parents ensured their safety by imposing limits. The speaker also recalls building wind tunnels to test the aerodynamics of paper airplanes and their ambition to break the sound barrier by designing a dangerous vacuum chamber experiment. However, their parents stopped them from completing this hazardous project.

🏆 Science Fair Success and Experimentation

The speaker discusses their achievements as a 'science fair kid,' having won more science fair awards than anyone else in their large county. They describe middle school experiments, including measuring how time moves differently at various altitudes by sending clocks to different locations. This experiment stemmed from their interest in gravity's effect on time, similar to how time slows near a black hole but moves faster in space. The speaker even collaborated with people living in the mountains to take altitude measurements for their project.

🤖 Frustration with 3D Modeling and Innovation

Frustration with the slow and cumbersome process of 3D modeling on computers led the speaker to work on solving the issue. They could easily draw ideas on paper but found that computers hindered efficient translation of those ideas into models. After receiving negative feedback from others, the speaker doubted their solution for months but eventually realized their own idea was correct. From then on, they decided to trust their instincts over external opinions when tackling complex technological challenges.

🔮 Future of Motion Sensing and Interfaces

The speaker envisions the future of motion sensing technology and interfaces, predicting revolutionary changes in the next 100 years. They speculate about advanced, glasses-free 3D displays and haptic technology that could create the sensation of touch through focused sound. Drawing comparisons to current primitive versions of these technologies, they imagine future interactions with digital elements that seamlessly blend into the real world. Ultimately, the speaker believes that future technology will surpass even the concept of a 'holodeck,' allowing for limitless, imaginative ways of interacting with virtual spaces.

🖌️ The Power of Digital Tools vs Physical Art

Using the analogy of painting versus digital design, the speaker reflects on the potential of digital tools to reshape reality. Unlike physical painting, where changes are permanent, digital mediums allow unlimited freedom to alter and adjust designs, like switching layers or changing blending modes. This capability represents the difference between the physical world’s limitations and the boundless possibilities of the digital realm, where creativity is unconstrained by material restrictions. The speaker finds this concept exciting, as it allows for the creation of 'pure thought' ideas.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Leap Motion

Leap Motion is a company focused on developing motion-sensing technology that allows users to control and interact with their computers using natural hand gestures, without physical contact. In the context of the video, David Holz, co-founder of Leap Motion, discusses his passion for creating seamless interactions between humans and digital interfaces, emphasizing how Leap Motion addresses the frustration with traditional computer input methods like keyboards and mice.

💡Computer Interfaces

Computer interfaces are the means by which users interact with computers, encompassing both hardware (like keyboards and mice) and software (like graphical user interfaces). The video highlights how David Holz envisions future interfaces that are more intuitive and immersive, allowing users to interact with digital environments through gestures and 3D visualizations.

💡3D Modeling

3D modeling refers to the process of creating a mathematical representation of a three-dimensional object using specialized software. Holz mentions his frustration with traditional 3D modeling tools, which often hinder creativity and take significantly more time than drawing by hand. His desire to streamline the 3D modeling process was a key motivator for developing more intuitive motion-sensing technology.

💡Haptics

Haptics is the technology that recreates the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. In the video, Holz discusses the potential for 'touchless haptics,' which would allow users to feel physical sensations in mid-air without actually touching anything. This concept is part of his vision for more immersive and interactive computer interfaces in the future.

💡Vacuum Chambers

A vacuum chamber is a rigid enclosure from which air and other gases are removed to create a low-pressure environment. Holz mentions his childhood experiments involving vacuum chambers to test the speed and aerodynamics of objects. This showcases his early curiosity about scientific principles and his hands-on approach to learning and experimentation.

💡Sound Waves

Sound waves are vibrations that travel through air, water, or other media and can be focused to create physical sensations. Holz references research from the University of Tokyo that uses focused sound waves to create touchless haptic sensations. He believes that advancements in this technology could be integrated into future computer interfaces to enhance user interaction.

💡Gravity and Time

Gravity affects the passage of time, a concept known as time dilation. In the video, Holz recalls his middle school experiments where he measured how time moves at different rates depending on altitude, due to the influence of gravity. This early interest in physics and scientific experimentation contributed to his innovative approach to problem-solving.

💡Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that overlays digital information onto the real world, enhancing the user's perception of their environment. Holz imagines a future where computer interfaces, such as glasses-less 3D displays, seamlessly blend digital and physical worlds, allowing for more intuitive and immersive interactions.

💡Holodeck

The Holodeck is a fictional concept from the TV series *Star Trek*, depicting a simulated reality environment where users can interact with virtual objects as if they were real. Holz mentions the Holodeck as an analogy for the type of technology he envisions, where digital environments are fully integrated into the physical world, making interactions feel as natural as real-world experiences.

💡Digital and Physical Worlds Integration

The integration of digital and physical worlds refers to the seamless blending of virtual elements with the real environment, making digital interactions feel as tangible as physical ones. Holz predicts that in the future, technology will allow us to manipulate digital content as easily as we do physical objects, enabling a new level of creativity and productivity.

Highlights

David Holz describes his curiosity as a child, experimenting with electricity and building wind tunnels for testing aerodynamics.

Holz mentions designing a dangerous project to break the sound barrier but was limited by his parents to safer experiments.

He shares how he won more science fair awards than anyone else in his county, testing time at different altitudes in middle school.

Holz reflects on his frustration with 3D modeling software and how it inspired the creation of LeapMotion, a more intuitive interface for interaction with computers.

He explains how there was a gap between what he could visualize and what computers allowed him to create, motivating him to solve the problem.

Initially, Holz received negative feedback from others about his ideas, but he eventually realized they were wrong and continued to pursue his vision.

He highlights how motion sensing will evolve in the future, envisioning interfaces with glasses-less 3D and touchless haptics technology.

Holz mentions the University of Tokyo’s research on using focused sound to create haptic feedback in mid-air, hinting at future applications.

He imagines a future where digital worlds seamlessly blend into the real world, creating a more immersive experience than current technology allows.

Holz contrasts the limitations of physical interaction, like painting, with the possibilities of digital manipulation where everything can be undone or altered.

He discusses the fundamental shift in how humans could interact with computers, imagining a world where interaction is based on pure thought.

Holz expresses excitement about the future of computing interfaces, predicting that technology 100 years from now will far surpass even the most advanced holographic systems.

He suggests that interaction design could evolve to a point where there are no restrictions, offering limitless possibilities for creativity.

Holz’s work on LeapMotion stems from a desire to remove barriers between human intention and computer output, focusing on natural interaction.

He envisions a future where humans will not just project digital content into the real world, but the interaction itself will become completely fluid and intuitive.