This thing turns any flat surface into a touchpad

Further evidence that we're edging closer to a reality where we're all Tom Cruise in Minority Report, waving our hands around wildly to make things move on big screens — solving future murders and/or which of your roommates keeps eating your leftovers — the Haptix is a new gizmo that allows you to turn any surface into a 3D multitouch controller.

The size of a pack of gum, it functions a lot like the LEAP motion controller, only instead of having you gesture like a weirdo to move something on the screen, it tracks your hand & finger movements against any surface its pointed at, enabling you to perform basic functions like pinching, zooming, clicking, and scrolling. Inside, it employs the types of sensors typically found in webcams to track movement (as well as infrared for when the light is low), and connects to a TV/computer via USB.

Cramping up using your mouse to tweak images in Photoshop? Clamp Haptix to something above your work area to turn your finger into the cursor. Can't find your TV remote? Have it hover above your coffee table and use your hands to change the channel. It's developers launched a Kickstarter campaign yesterday to raise funds, and they've already met nearly half of the $100,000 goal. And if you act fast, you can reserve one now for just $59.