The enthusiasm we're seeing around Oculus Quest hand tracking right now is a telling signal. 📽️ @DennysKuhnert
Un petit thread:
Un petit thread:
@DennysKuhnert We've had hand tracking capability—in fact hand tracking that is technically *better* than Quest's—for years. Some artists made great use of it across a variety of platforms.
@DennysKuhnert The problem was the gap between the community of consumers able to consume the content & the artists/devs experimenting with it.
This wasn't anybody's fault per se, we've just needed a simple enough solution and a corresponding community to engage (& potentially become creators)
This wasn't anybody's fault per se, we've just needed a simple enough solution and a corresponding community to engage (& potentially become creators)
@DennysKuhnert I can't tell you how many times I heard something to the effect of: "Leap Motion is amazing I just don't know how to use it" from the creator community over the past half-decade.
Controllers remained the status quo because there was an ecosystem & community around them.
Controllers remained the status quo because there was an ecosystem & community around them.
@DennysKuhnert SO. Even though Quest's hand tracking may not be as good as Leap Motion's, & HoloLens/Magic Leap may have beaten VR to the on-board capability punch, Quest has created a framework for creators to experiment with a device that is in the hands of consumers.
@DennysKuhnert Hah—I actually did not mean that pun
@DennysKuhnert Anyway, we ought to take note of this signal.
First: it may sound dramatic, but we're in a critical time for hand tracking. The mechanics we create from hand gestures now will have lasting impacts on the hardware, software, & experiences we'll have for years to come.
First: it may sound dramatic, but we're in a critical time for hand tracking. The mechanics we create from hand gestures now will have lasting impacts on the hardware, software, & experiences we'll have for years to come.
@DennysKuhnert So far, the creativity has been super playful & imaginative. I'm very with that.
But as it continues to evolve, let's be sure to think about & discuss how hand tracking could be used for new types of utility, access, & inclusion. We won't get another inflection point like this.
But as it continues to evolve, let's be sure to think about & discuss how hand tracking could be used for new types of utility, access, & inclusion. We won't get another inflection point like this.
@DennysKuhnert As a related point, let's also not sleep on other emerging human-computer interaction languages. In specific, I'm talking about:
Eye tracking 👀 & brainwave sensing 🧠
Eye tracking 👀 & brainwave sensing 🧠
@DennysKuhnert These & others will seem underground or experimental until a solution comes along that suddenly blasts it to the fore.
@DennysKuhnert Capitalism incentivizes the creation of sellable products/services.
We need to do as much of the vital ethical & philosophical legwork around a given technology's implications BEFORE it goes fully mainstream.
For now, I'm just excited; but let's make sure we keep talking. /END
We need to do as much of the vital ethical & philosophical legwork around a given technology's implications BEFORE it goes fully mainstream.
For now, I'm just excited; but let's make sure we keep talking. /END
