How to connect leap-motion , directly to android

Question

i am working on an android application that requires to be controlled by LEAP-motion. the leap sdk currently only supports windows and mac. but is there a way (any open library/tutorial etc.) to make the leap motion device talk to an android phone?

leap motion uses a USB connection to the phone , i have a usb OTG adapter and can directly plug in leap.

Any sort of help will be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

Introduction

Ya, I know your question contains the word "directly". My solution is not direct but it is an alternative you may consider. I have come up to a smooth acceptable solution to make LeapMotion work on Android (indirectly).

Pre-requisites

• A PC or a Mac with npm as the "PROXY"
• npm install binaryjs
• npm install sleep
• An Android device with Wi-fi capability ("DEVICE")
• Leap Motion device ("LEAP MOTION") connected to the "PROXY"
• Wi-fi LAN connection between the "DEVICE" and "PROXY"

The basic idea of this solution is to use the PROXY to make the impossible (Android+LeapMotion) to become possible. The PROXY will read the data from LEAP MOTION using the Javascript SDK and stream (ya, it's streaming rather than posting) the data to node.js instance running on it.

The DEVICE will connect to the PROXY and stream (ya, it's again streaming rather than polling) the hand position data and present it as a red circle on screen.

Step-by-step guide

1. Download the PROXY project here

2. Extract the project

3. Run in on your instance of node.js server on your PC or Mac (e.g. node index.js)

4. Mark down the IP of the PROXY

5. Open your browser (Chrome and Safari are proven working) and browse http://localhost:5000 to verify it is running

6. Download the Android project for your DEVICE here

7. Import the project in ADT

8. Open strings.xml to modify the IP address to the IP address of PROXY

9. Run the project on YOUR DEVICE

10. Move your hand above the LEAP MOTION and see the red circle moving according to your hand's direction

Direct connection

In fact I have tried to make the LEAP MOTION work directly on Android. There are certain difficulties. Firstly, the USB adapter of the Android device has to be USB host and providing sufficient power to LEAP MOTION. Then, if you could adb the Android device, you should be able to find /dev/video? after plugging in the cable. AFAIK, LEAP MOTION works like a video camera which streams video data to the other end of the cable (format unknown). But certainly, without an official SDK, we couldn't get the Hand, Bone, Gesture, Arm and other higher level API support. So, let's wait for SDK or use my indirect solution.