Former Apple iAd Exec Leaps to 3D Motion Control

Former Apple exec Andy Miller has made the leap to a new technology, 3D motion control, to be specific. Mr. Miller is now the president and chief operating officer of Leap, a small firm trying to change the way we interact with devices, and his task will be to help bring the technology to market.

Andy Miller

Former Apple Exec Andy Miller

“I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the most influential figures and companies in the technology industry, and I’m as excited about the Leap as I’ve ever been about a technology,” Mr. Miller said in a statement. “The potential for the Leap is limitless, as it is going to fundamentally change the way we interact with so many devices in our lives. I’m thrilled to come on board and looking forward to growing Leap Motion into the technology powerhouse it’s on the road to becoming.”

Andy Miller came to the attention of the Apple world when that company bought mobile advertising network Quattro Wireless for US$275 million in 2010. He went to Apple as part of the purchase, where he helped develop Apple’s iAd service. He left Apple in August of 2011 to join Highland Capital.

Moving to his new gig, Leap is a 3D motion control solution that allows users to interact with a computer in 3D. The company created a stir in May with a video demo of the technology on YouTube called “Introducing the Leap,” which we embedded below.

Introducing the Leap

The company claims that it received “overwhelming numbers of pre-orders and developer kit requests from over 150 countries.” Leap also said that its technology is accurate to 1/100th of a millimeter, or 10 microns to the rest of us.

The physical device making this possible is available for pre-order at $70. It’s the small metal box sitting in front of the display in the first few seconds of the video above.