Leap Motion opens new research studio in London

Motion tracking specialists Leap Motion are opening a new office in London. The new office will house a design research studio to help design more visions of a futuristic world aided by technology.

Writing on its blog, the San Franciso-based company said that opening the London office was to "further our mission to design robust, believable and honest visions of a world elevated by technology, with human input at the center."

In charge of this new studio, and taking on the role of VP of design and global creative director is Keiichi Matsuda. The filmmaker and designer is most noted for his work on combining technology with human day-to-day life and the implications of that combination. His movie Hyper-Reality, which was released last year, shows this combination in an almost dystopian story of consumer dependence.

“Virtual and augmented reality are at a critical point in their evolution,” said Leap Motion CEO, Michael Buckwald. “With the rapid adoption of VR/AR over the next few years within industries, and integration into how we live, work, and play — it is essential that we lay the groundwork for a magical user experience through a unified design philosophy.”

“We can’t predict what everyday life will look like in the future. What we do know is that technology will completely transform the world,” added Matsuda. “Exploring our potential futures has led me down some dark and exciting paths, from my AR concept work in 2010 to last year’s short film Hyper-Reality, and my upcoming short, Merger. It is our responsibility to find a path through the dangers and challenges ahead, and construct a positive and inclusive vision of a world that we want to live in. I want to bring my experience in design and world-building to bring about this change.”

Leap Motion’s technology is designed to be deployed in untethered VR headsets and allow for hand and motion tracking with zero latency and low processing.