Poetry in motion

Smartphones and tablets have led us into a touchable digital world. Gone are the days of pressing keys and moving a scroll wheel. Now we expect instant feedback via touch controls and air-based gestures are the next natural step for this type of interaction. Companies like Leap Motion are looking to make waves in the human-computer interface market with a product that enables users to manipulate on-screen items not with a joystick or a mouse or a gadget of any kind, but directly with hand gestures. Last year, Hewlett Packard announced an expanded partnership with Leap Motion that saw gesture-based controllers embedded in a range of HP laptops. And with Apple patenting a touchless control interface, it's time for manufacturers to start thinking about the next steps in user interaction.