One of the most powerful things about the Leap Motion platform is its ability to tie into just about any creative platform. That’s why we’ve launched a Platform Integrations & Libraries showcase where you can discover the latest wrappers, plugins, and integrations.
The global epidemic of boring presentations stops here. With Reveal.js, you have access to a powerful presentation platform that runs in your browser, giving you the ability to hack and connect it to almost anything. Want to point and navigate with Leap Motion instead of hunching over your laptop? You can do that. Let your audience cast votes on their cell phones? Absolutely.
Reveal.js is the brainchild of Hakim El-Attab, a Swedish engineer and co-founder of Slides. “Being able to add any HTML content inside of a presentation means you can have content that updates in real time, embed iframes like Tweets and YouTube videos and much more,” he says. “The framework is also easily hackable so that it can be tweaked to anyone’s personal preference.”
The platform also features a Leap Motion plugin created by web developers Rory Hardy and James Sun. With it, you can create a pointer on the screen with your finger, swipe through slides, and even toggle overview mode.
On our Developer Gallery, you can find a motion-controlled presentation deck that highlights all the features of Reveal.js, plus Elmer Thomas’ ultimate presentation (previously featured on our blog) with SendGrid audience voting.
This week, we caught up with Rory to ask about his work and how motion control can spice up a presentation:
What does motion control add to a presentation over a mouse or touchpad?
Gesture support allows for a simple but active engagement with the audience. Speakers often move their arms around, but rarely do they engage the presentation with them. Since it’s different, it catches attention.
The laser pointer, in my opinion, is the best feature for gesture control since it enables the presenter to point at the screen without turning away from the audience. I enjoy being able to actively engage with my audience while still being able to directly point out the things I want to.
I teach a JavaScript training course at Cerner. I enjoy using Reveal.js + Leap Motion since it shows off some of the cool things you can do with JavaScript. Again, the laser pointer is always helpful when I want to point something out – no more physical laser pointers for me.
What was the original inspiration behind the plugin?
Cerner, the company I work for, hosts monthly hack nights. At these hack nights, anyone is welcome, anyone can pitch projects/ideas, and people group together to work on what interests them.
I got my Leap Motion Controller back when I was in college. I was excited to work with it, but couldn’t think of anything to do. One day, James and I were talking about it and decided we’d figure something out at one of the hack nights. We ultimately landed on creating a laser pointer that would sit atop anything in the OS. Unfortunately, drawing on top of anything and everything in an OS proved to be more work than it was worth.
After additional consideration, we realized that Reveal.js was a prime candidate for the functionality of a laser pointer, not to mention various gestures for control. If I remember correctly, we started working on it during the hack night and finished it outside of it.
Want to get started with Reveal.js? Presentations can be written using HTML, Markdown, or the visual editor available at slides.com. After that, dig into the Reveal.js GitHub page to explore additional functionality. You’ll be glad you did – and your audience will too.
Image credit: Ambro, FreeDigitalPhotos.net
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