Method for Hand Detection

About

Background Applications The large number of simultaneous actions and settings for video game and robot control typically requires many physical joysticks, buttons, and switches.  Unique control systems need to be designed and built for each device.  This increases production cost and limits the ability of the system to be adapted to new applications.  Multi-touch surfaces, already common on smart phones, could be used to create complex controls that would be easily reprogrammed for new uses. However, to enable this interaction on multi-touch devices, the entire hand must be detected, fingers registered, and handedness determined. There is currently no method for unique finger detection using only the touch points. Applications Video game controller Personal computers and tablets having applications which require multi-touch interactions Personal computers and tablets having applications which require multi-touch interactions Robotic controls for forklift operation, manufacturing equipment, aircraft control Touchscreen applications to combine data from various sources, potentially improving military planning, disaster response and search-and-rescue operations Advantages Elegant, fast algorithm Emulated joystick appears almost instantly Versatile The same piece of hardware can be programmed to work with multiple video games, robots, or software packages Algorithm can be implemented across multiple platforms.  It is not locked to a particular multi-touch device.  It could even be developed for non-touch applications where hand tracking is possible such as video. Easy to use Joystick is intuitive interface for many applications Emulated joystick is sized and positioned to user’s hand, increasing user comfort Hand registration allows user to instinctively know where controls are located without having to repeatedly look down at joystick to make sure hands are correctly positioned over controls. References [1] Mark Micire, Eric McCann, Munjal Desai, Katherine M. Tsui, Adam Norton, and Holly A. Yanco. Hand and Finger Registration for Multi-Touch Joysticks on Software-Based Operator Control Units. Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Technologies for Practical Robot Applications, Woburn, MA, April 2011. [2] Mark Micire, Munjal Desai, Jill L. Drury, Eric McCann, Adam Norton, Katherine M. Tsui, and Holly A. Yanco. Design and Validation of Two-Handed Multi-Touch Tabletop Controllers for Robot Teleoperation. Proceedings of the International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces, Palo Alto, CA, February 13-16, 2011. [3] Gaming Ecosystem, 2011. Gartner, Inc.