We tested the user experience of the leap motion controller with users. It shows the great potential of gesture controls, but also some significant drawbacks. Interaction designers need to be aware of technical limitations and human expectations when deisgning apps with gesture interfaces.

1. E-motion-al or frustrating?
Leap Motion put to the UX test –
Gesture control from the users' point of view

2. LEAP MOTION PUT TO
THE UX TEST
RESULT OVERVIEW
ABOUT LEAP MOTION
OBJECTS AND PROCEDURE
RESULTS
AUTHORS

3. RESULT OVERVIEW

4. 01. RESULT OVERVIEW
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE STUDY
— The Leap Motion Controller is a new motion sensing technology
for human–computer interaction.
— UID evaluated the user experience of Leap Motion with 16
participants.
— Based on the results UID draws conclusions how to design user-
friendly gestural interaction.
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SOURCE 1)

5. 01. RESULT OVERVIEW
USER EXPERIENCE
— Leap motion captures movement precisely and the interaction
with gestures delights and simultaneously frustrates the user.
— A consistent basic vocabulary of interaction gestures will
facilitate the controls of the apps.
— Leap Motion has a big potential to make an inspiring User
Experience (UX) possible for certain use cases.
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SOURCE 2)

6. 01. RESULT OVERVIEW
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE GESTURES
— For the creation of the User Experience, natural interaction like grabbing for objects and simultaneous use
of both hands should be offered.
— Bad or improper definition of the gestures affect a loss of control as well as frustration. Good interaction
design for Leap Motion needs to be crisp and focused. As in many other Natural User Interface (NUIs), the
tolerance for technical faults is very small.
— New gestures, that enable more direct interaction and are not similar to traditional interaction with mouse
or touch, can be learned easily and thus provide an additional benefit.
— The next step will be, that we have a detailed look at a standard gesture vocabulary and discuss
requirements for interesting gesture use cases.
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7. ABOUT LEAP MOTION

8. 02. ABOUT LEAP MOTION
WHAT IS LEAP MOTION?
— Leap Motion is a new motion sensing technology for human–
computer interaction, released in July 2013.
— It offers the possibility of gesture recognition (comparable with
KINECT) and enables to use Windows 8 or Mac without the mouse.
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SOURCE 3)

9. 02. ABOUT LEAP MOTION
THE LEAP CONTROLLER
— The Leap Controller, not much bigger than a lighter, is positioned
in front of the screen and connected via USB to the computer.
— It builds up an infrared field that captures the movement of up to
10 fingers (or items such as a pen). This is additionally
supported by 2 small cameras.
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SOURCE 4)

10. 02. ABOUT LEAP MOTION
FIELDS OF APPLICATION
— Leap is similar to "jump over" and announces a technical
progress.
» In the future it could replace the computer mouse and allows
new forms of human-computer interaction.
— The current main field of applications are apps for gaming
to introduce users to control their computer via gestures.
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SOURCE 5)

11. SOURCE 6)
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12. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS

13. 03. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
— We wanted to check
» the UX promises and expectations of Leap Motion,
» the perceived user experience from the users
» and possible use cases from the users point of view.
— Based on the results of the User Experience Test we develop
recommendations for designing user-friendly gestural
interaction.
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SOURCE 7)

14. 03. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS
TEST SET-UP
— We evaluated the Leap Motion Controller in a UX test with 16 participants.
» In the UX test the participants explored the usage of the Leap Motion Controller freely, while experts of
UID observed the behaviour of users and their experience.
— In the second step UID measured the user experience of Leap Motion with the online tool AttrakDiff.
» AttrakDiff helps to understand, how users personally rate the usability and design of interactive
products: www.attrakdiff.de
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15. 03. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS
EXCURSION: WHAT IS USABILITY? WHAT DOES "USER EXPERIENCE" MEAN?
— Usability (user-friendliness) is a standard to measure how easy it is for a user to interact with an
interactive product. User-friendly solutions help users to accomplish their goals and tasks faster, and they
increase the users' satisfaction, avoiding or reducing mistakes and frustration.
— The expression "user experience" takes this whole concept a big step forward by including non-
instrumental aspects of the use of a product. How attractive does the application appear? Is it fun to use
this interactive product? Is motivation increased by a more intensive, creative and productive use of the
product? Can users identify themselves with the product, can they relate to it and thus the manufacturer?
The entire experience that a user makes with a product is what is important.
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16. RESULTS

17. 04. RESULTS
FIRST IMPRESSION AND EXPECTATIONS
— When using Leap Motion for the first time, every participant is
happily surprised.
» Participants were fascinated by the technology and
emotionally engaged in the first usage.
— First, participants interacted with the entire hand and didn't
expect that the single fingers are captured by Leap Motion. The
fact, that Leap Motion captures the movement of up to 10
fingers, was surprising.
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PROVIDE FEED-
BACK TO SHOW
PARTICIPANTS
WHAT IS CAPTURED.

18. 04. RESULTS
GESTURES
— Gestures that simulate grabbing objects, have been understood
intuitively.
— Gestures that are different to a mouse/touch interaction, have not
been expected since the computer needs to interpret this (e.g.:
showing three fingers instead of selecting "menu item 3").
» But this interactions have been learned easily and with fun.
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CREATE GESTURES
THAT SIMULATE
GRABBING AN
OBJECT.

19. 04. RESULTS
CAPTURE OF THE MOVEMENTS
— It is ambiguous in which spatial area the Leap Motion captures the
movement.
» Participants moved outside of the “interaction-space” and the
interaction broke down.
— Gestures need to be performed very precisely, otherwise they
aren't recognized or are misinterpreted.
» But humans do gestures with less cognitive effort, and in their
own, personal way. Having to learn and practice the exact
gesture, is work. It can quickly turn into (unexpected) effort.
SHOW THE USER
IN WHICH AREA IT
CAPTURES THE
MOVEMENTS.
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20. 04. RESULTS
TIRING INTERACTION
— The participants generally got impatient when an interaction
didn't work straightaway.
» Since we use our hands to communicate and other humans
will get our “gesture message” very quickly, participants had
no tolerance for any misinterpretation.
— The execution of gestures in the long run can be quite strenuous.
» When a gesture has to be repeated several times because it is
not recognized or the dialogue requires it, the strain on hand
muscles is quickly displeasing.
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CREATE GREAT
INTERACTION
DESIGN SO THAT
NO ONE BECOMES
TIRED.

21. 04. RESULTS
INCONSISTENT SET OF GESTURES ACROSS APPS
— There is no consistent set of gestures across the different apps.
» Every app uses an own gesture-vocabulary for their
interaction.
» This means a constant challenge to remember gestures or
learn new sets. Participants are irritated by that extra effort.
NOW IT IS
(Y)OUR JOB TO
FIND INTUITIVE
GESTURES.
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22. 04. RESULTS
ATTRAKDIFF
— In the AttrakDiff Leap Motion is positioned quiet
high in the topic "self-oriented" (see image).
— One could say that the participants see less the
practical value, but it still is a lot of fun to use
Leap Motion.
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23. AUTHORS

24. 05. AUTHORS
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Tobias Limbach
Team Manager User Experience Design
tobias.limbach@uid.com
Insa Wulf
Interaction Designer
insa.wulf@uid.com
Malte Krökel
User Research
malte.kroekel@uid.com

25. More than 100 experts
for Usability, Software and
Design
6 industries
automotive, consumer, enterprise, ind-
ustry, medical & pharmaceuticals, web
More than
2.000 projects
since 1998
5 locations
Ludwigsburg, Berlin, Dortmund, Mannheim,
Munich – and all over the world
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05. AUTHORS
ABOUT UID

26. www.uid.com
User Interface Design GmbH
WILHELM-BLEYLE-STRASSE 10–12
71636 LUDWIGSBURG
info@uid.com

27. REFERENCES
SOURCES FOR PICTURES
1) https://www.leapmotion.com/product
2) https://www.leapmotion.com/apps
3) https://www.leapmotion.com/product
4) https://www.leapmotion.com/product
5) https://www.leapmotion.com/product
6) https://www.leapmotion.com/product
7) https://www.leapmotion.com/product
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