Leap Motion, a designer of motion-control software and hardware for personal computers, announced on Wednesday that the Leap Motion Controller will begin shipping to consumers on May 13 and will launch exclusively in the U.S. at Best Buy stores on May 19. In mid-2013 the same controller will be installed into high-end personal computers from Asustek Computer that will utilize Intel Core i-series “Haswell” microprocessors.

Leap Motion's technology – which relies on a special receiver hardware and custom software – can track movements to 1/100th millimeter with no visible lag time. The Leap Motion controller has a 150-degree field of view, and tracks individual hands and all 10 fingers at 290 frames per second. The partnership between Asus and Leap Motion brings the future of computer interaction – Leap Motion's incredibly fast and accurate natural user interface – to millions of potential consumers around the world.

“We’re honored and humbled that hundreds of thousands of people have joined Leap Motion’s global community of developers, pre-order consumers and business partners/ We know people have been eagerly waiting, and today I am happy to announce we are bringing the Leap Motion Controller to the world less than a year after we introduced our technology. We are taking the time needed to provide an incredible user experience and robust ecosystem of applications for consumers to explore the new power and magic Leap Motion brings to computing,” said Leap Motion co-founder and CEO Michael Buckwald.

LeapMotion.com continues accepting U.S. and international pre-orders, at the launch price of $79.99 plus shipping, tax and duties where applicable. BestBuy.com will also begin taking pre-orders in the U.S.

The Leap Motion Controller will support operating system interactions with Windows 7 and 8, and Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8. The Leap Motion Controller will also come with access to Airspace, an exclusive Leap Motion application store where users can discover optimized software across a wide variety of categories including gaming, music, education, art, productivity and more.

Leading developers around the world are working closely with Leap Motion to produce applications. A few of the expected applications for the Leap Motion Controller include: plug-ins for 3D design software leader Autodesk; Corel’s Painter apps; Disney Interactive’s Wreck-It Ralph: Sugar Rush Speedway racing game; top independent game maker Double Fine’s music game Dischord; The Weather Channel app; and ZeptoLab’s optimized Cut the Rope, a top casual game app. Leap Motion continues to accept submissions to join its developer program and create new uses for the Leap Motion Controller.

Tags: Leap Motion