Leap Motion will be holding the second annual Leap Motion 3D Jam this coming September. Kicking off on September 28, developers from around the world will be competing to build the most innovative experiences using Leap Motion hardware and software. Leap Motion expects to see submissions for virtual reality, desktop and mobile experiences. The company hopes to see many exciting projects using the new resources it has added to the developer kits, such as Image Hands and video pass-through.
Last year was the first 3D Jam and it was very successful, with over 160 individual submissions. Some of the most popular titles on Leap’s app store were first conceived for last year’s event. ElementL: Ghost Story, while not a winner last year, went on to become one of the most popular free apps, and one of the first to be updated with Images Hands support.
Leap Motion 3D Jam 2.0 will have two different categories to compete in, with separate prize pools. The first category is the AR/VR Track. These experiences must be built to work on tethered HMDs such as the Oculus Rift DK2. There will be five awards for this category, plus two community favorites.
First prize is set at $10,000. Second prize will receive $7,500, third place is $5,000, fourth is $2,500, and fifth is $1,000. Both community favorites will receive $500 plus some hardware from Leap.
The second category is called Open Track. This is where all other submissions will be entered, including any desktop applications and Android apps. Projects for the Internet of Things will also be considered in this category.
The prize pool for this category is not quite as large, and therefore will only have three top prizes and a single community favorite. The pay scale will remain the same with first place taking $10,000, second place getting $7,500 and third place garnering $5,000. The community favorite winner will receive $500 and hardware from Leap.
Registrations for 3D Jam are open now and can be found on Leap Motion’s developer site. Everyone who signs up for VR Jam will receive a discount code for 22 percent off anything on Leap Motion’s web store, and any developer who enters a project before the deadline will receive a refund for the cost of hardware purchased. Teams will have until November 9 at 11:59:59pm PT to submit their entries.
Update, 7/22/2015, 7:27am PDT: Leap Motion has now posted the official rules for 3D Jam 2.0, which can be found here.
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