Following the success of Nintendo Co. Ltd’s Wii and Microsoft Corp.’s Kinect, Waterloo-based startup Thalmic Labs Inc. is releasing a consumer-friendly device with motion and gesture controls of its own.
The device, called MYO, is a band that fits around a users’ forearm, and uses a combination of biometrical signals, as well as data from gyroscopes and accelerometers, to track and interpret movement.
The first batch of 25,000 devices will ship in late 2013, and can be preordered beginning today for $149.
But unlike past devices, MYO is for more than just gaming. It connects via Bluetooth 4.0 with Mac and Windows computers, as well as mobile devices running Android and iOS.
Different gestures, such as the snapping of a finger or the turning of an invisible knob, produce different electrical signals that MYO can track. “These sensors are highly sensitive to electrical activity from muscles.” explained co-founder and CEO Stephen Lake.
Thalmic will be making an API available at launch for developers to integrate MYO support into games, software, or third-party devices. The company’s launch video showed MYO interaction with Parrot’s AR.Drone, a wirelessly-controlled quadrocopter, and the Orbotix Sphero.
But MYO isn’t the only innovative motion control device reaching consumers this year. Another company, Leap Motion Inc., has packed cameras and LEDs into its Leap Motion Controller, a device that sits on a user’s desk. Leap Motion’s developers claim it can track motion with enough precision to enable 3D modelling and medical use. But Leap Motion can only be used in a very small space. What gets really interesting with MYO is you’re no longer tied to a specific area. User get that unlimited workspace which is one clear difference from anything vision based.
