Gest is a wearable device that allows you to control your computer or mobile device with your hands. Read more
This project will only be funded if at least $100,000 is pledged by .
Gest is a wearable device that allows you to control your computer or mobile device with your hands.
About this project
Work with your hands
Over a year ago, we set out to find a better way to interact. We wanted a device that got back to the basics of how we use computers. We’re used to old tools like the keyboard and mouse, but they’re starting to make less sense as our devices get smaller and more embedded in our lives. That’s why we created Gest.
Gest lets you work with your hands in a more intuitive way. Switch between apps just by twitching your finger. Point at your screen to move the mouse around. Twist your palm to adjust sliders in Photoshop. Rotate a 3D object by literally grabbing it and rotating your hand. You don’t have to think about what you’re doing, just do it.
The coolest part is that Gest is extremely versatile. You can program custom gestures into actions on your devices. Just make a movement with your hand, then tie it to any action you want.
We don’t think the keyboard and mouse will be around forever, and with your help Gest will make that happen sooner rather than later!
What people are saying
Introducing Gest
Gest is a new way of working with your computer. It understands your hand and finger positions with a high degree of precision, so you can use it to get things done in a more intuitive way. It’s beautifully designed, light, and comfortable. Gest conforms to your hand size and shape through its adjustable palm strap and moldable finger mounts.
Personalization
We’re building Gest to be an extension of your body, as intuitive and flexible as using your own hands. For example, undoing an action could be as simple as swiping your hand to the left.
While Gest may be one-size-fits-all on the outside, on the inside it’s all about you. Everyone moves their hands in unique ways; the way you point at the screen is probably different than your friend. Over time, Gest learns how you perform common gestures, like pointing, swiping, flicking, and grabbing. It also monitors your own custom gestures to ensure precision and accuracy. This is all made possible from our statistical model that adapts to each user, making Gest the most accurate gestural interface on the market today.
Precision & Speed
Our finger tracking technology is extremely low latency (40-60 ms), which means higher accuracy and more recognized gestures. We packed 15 discrete sensors into each hand so that Gest has an accurate picture of what your hand is doing, no matter its orientation.
Whether you’re drawing, typing, modeling, presenting, or composing, Gest can learn the meaning of those motions and help you get things done fast!
What can you do with Gest?
Design
The first application integration that will be available day one is Photoshop, so anyone who designs for a living will love Gest right out of the box!
With a simple flick of a finger, you can add an adjustment layer and adjust its value. Or you can add layers, undo an action, or change your brush size, all without putting down your stylus and taking yourself out of the creative process!
We're also extremely excited about 3D modeling tools like Maya, 3DS and AutoCAD.
Digital Toolkit
Every Gest is also a DevKit.
We’ve built an API so you can get access to hand position and movement data. We’ve layered a state-of-the-art machine learning stack on top of hyper-efficient motion processing algorithms to allow complex gesture recognition at extremely low latency.
If you don’t want to use our custom skeletal models and motion processed data, you can still do whatever you want; we provide raw sensor data too! We will initially be providing Java and Python APIs.
Typing
Gest was born out of our frustration with typing on tiny on-screen keyboards on our cellphones. We couldn’t find any portable keyboards that were efficient, comfortable, and accurate, so we initially created Gest with typing in mind.
Our typing system is an experimental feature, and to make it great we need some brave folks to help test and improve the system. If you can type without looking at the keyboard and would like to try it out, make sure to select two Gest controllers to unlock typing functionality.
To give you an idea of what typing looks like with one of our earlier development prototypes, check out this quick demo below:
Virtual/Augmented Reality
We think virtual reality and augmented reality are the next big things—but we also know they won’t succeed without a good way to interact.
From day one, developers will be able to build integrations with these devices through our SDK. We truly believe the kickstarter community can help make VR and AR devices mainstream, and we can’t wait to see what you build with Gest!
Product Specs
- Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) allows Gest to connect to all your devices, so you can interact wherever you are.
- IMUs Gest’s sensors and their careful placement on your fingers gives the most accurate tracking possible at extremely low latency.
- Smart LED allows Gest to tell you when you are connected and what interaction mode you are in.
- Rechargeable battery Gest has a rechargeable battery that will last through a full day of work.
- Micro USB Gest has a micro usb port for easy charging
Kickstarter Limited Edition
Sometimes, nature can be a better designer than any human. As a special thank you to our first backers, we're offering a premium, limited edition model made with real wood. We will never make these again, so make sure to grab one now!
Who is Gest for?
Gest is a digital toolkit that adds a new level of speed and precision to your favorite applications. Whether you’re a developer who wants to build out integrations with your favorite software using our SDK, or an artist that wants to explore how next-gen interaction can improve the creative process, then Gest is for you.
Kickstarter, we need your help to make Gest a reality. Please share our project with your friends and back us!
How we got here
Our very first prototype was handmade and cobbled together out of duct tape and copper strips in the Fall of 2013. Since then, it's taken countless prototypes and nearly 2 years of work to bring you Gest in its current form.
Where we are now, and where we’re going
We’ve been building and iterating prototypes for the past year, and now we need your help getting our latest prototype up to manufacturing standards. Your support will help us through the DFM (design for manufacture), DVT (design verification testing), and PVT (production verification testing) processes so that we can ship Gest to you in November next year.
Timeline
Our Team
We’ve been working on this project for over a year, brought together by our love for making amazing things. We’ve each been messing around with crazy hardware and software projects for years, and the only thing stronger than our friendships is our passion for making Gest a reality.
Mike Pfister is our CEO. With a double degree in Computer Science and Film, he likes to write code by day and shoot beautiful videos by night. He’s also a guitarist and part-time surfer.
Ben Brown is our lead software developer, he writes code that should take weeks to write in mere days and likes tooling around in his Subaru and riding really loud bikes.
Sid Srikumar is our self-proclaimed “chief envisioneer”, and originally convinced Mike and Ben to work on a ridiculous idea for a “keyboardless keyboard” after stealing the idea from a sci-fi novel. And no, he won’t say which novel!
Tim Steckler has years of experience working on all sorts of crazy products, from smart gun sights to VR treadmills. He loves working with his hands and tinkering with all sorts of hardware.
Rewards
Thanks for your support. Back Gest today!
Follow Gest on Facebook, Twitter, and our website.
And finally, thank you! We can’t wait to improve how we interact with technology, together.
Risks and challenges
Building great software is hard, and building great hardware is even harder. There are many challenges our team will undoubtedly face as we manufacture, test, and ship Gest and we’ve done our best to create a solid production plan.
The first step to ensure that we deliver a great product requires transparency and openness about our development status. As a backer you’ll receive updates and insights around our progress every step of the way. We’ll let you know about any issues that crop up as well as major milestones we reach.
While many campaigns promise to deliver within 6 months, even if they know it will actually take a year to ship, we think it’s more important to be honest with our backers. Our shipping date is later than most campaigns, but we know we’ll actually be able to ship on time.
We’re making it a top priority to be as honest and accurate about every step in getting Gest onto your hands. We have an excellent group of advisors supporting us, and our team has experience bringing hardware products to market.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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Typing is only (for now!) capable of typing sentences in English, with basic punctuation, i.e. commas, periods, exclamation marks and question marks. We're working on adding more symbols and numbers, but for now we wouldn't recommend using it for programming or typing another language.
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Gest works with OS X, Windows, Android, and iOS devices that support Bluetooth 4.0.
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While Gest can track your hand's rotation and finger position (what the hand is doing) with a high degree of precision, it cannot track your hand's absolute position in space (where your hand is), so you can't use it for VR games where the positions of your virtual hands play an important role.
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No! While our end goal is to create an interface that does everything a keyboard and mouse can do (but better!), we think the best way to use Gest is in conjunction with them. There are certain things that the mouse and keyboard still fail to do well, and that's where Gest truly shines.
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