User interface apparatus using hand gesture recognition and method thereof

• US 20060136846A1
• Filed: 09/29/2005
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intellectual Discovery Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute
• Inventors: Lim, Dong-Sun, Im, Sung-Ho, Yang, Man-Seok, Kwon, Kee-Koo, Park, Tae-Joon, Kim, Heung-Nam
• Granted Patent: US 7,702,130 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883

Abstract

Provided is a user interface apparatus that can control a telematics terminal safely and comfortably while driving, by recognizing a hand gesture image received through a camera in the telematics terminal as a corresponding control signal, and a method thereof. The interface apparatus using a hand gesture recognition, includes: an input receiving block for receiving a command registration request signal and a command selection signal; a hand gesture recognizing block for storing the hand gesture image in connection with a specific command, and transforming the hand gesture image into the corresponding command by recognizing the hand gesture image from the image obtained in the image obtaining block; and a command performing block for performing an operation corresponding to a command transformed in the hand gesture recognizing block.

Claims

1. An interface apparatus using a hand gesture recognition, comprising:

an image acquiring means for acquiring a hand gesture image;

an input receiving means for receiving a command registration request signal and a command selection signal;

a hand gesture recognizing means for storing the hand gesture image, which is obtained in the image obtaining means according to the command registration request signal received in the input receiving means, in connection with a specific command, and transforming the hand gesture image into the corresponding command by recognizing the hand gesture image from the image obtained in the image obtaining means; and

a command performing means for performing an operation corresponding to a command transformed in the hand gesture recognizing means.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

a luminance sensing means for sensing a luminance, transmitting the luminance to the command performing means and, if a luminance is less than a pre-set value, controlling a lamp to be turned on.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, wherein the procedure that the hand gesture recognizing means registers the command by storing a user authentication information received from the receiving means, authenticating the user based on the stored authentication information when the command registration request signal is received in the input receiving means, and storing the hand gesture image obtained in the image obtaining means in connection with a specific command.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the hand gesture recognizing means recognizes the hand gesture by separating a command input frame including the hand gesture that can be recognized as an independent command from the image obtained in the image obtaining means, recognizing the hand gesture by extracting feature points from the separated command input frame, and transforming the hand gesture into the corresponding command.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 3, wherein the command is executed by outputting a command announcement message which is pre-set with respect to the command transformed in the hand gesture recognition means, and performing a corresponding operation.

6. An interface apparatus using a hand gesture recognition, comprising the steps of:

a) outputting an available command list upon a command registration request signal, receiving a selection for a specific command, receiving the hand gesture image to correspond to the selected command, and registering the image to a gesture information database (DB);

b) recognizing the hand gesture image obtained from a camera and transforming the image into the corresponding command; and

c) performing the operation corresponding to the transformed command.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, further comprising the step of:

d) controlling luminosity by turning a lamp on if a present luminance is less than a pre-set value.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, wherein the step a) includes the steps of:

a1) authenticating a user upon the command registration request signal if the user authentication is successful;

a2) receiving a selection for a specific command by outputting an available command list;

a3) obtaining a hand gesture image to correspond to the received command; and

a4) extracting feature points by analyzing the obtained hand gesture image and storing the feature points.

9. The apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein the step b) includes the steps of:

b1) being switched into a hand gesture input mode;

b2) separating a command input frame including the hand gesture that can be recognized as an independent command from the image which is obtained in the image obtaining means, and recognizing a hand gesture by extracting feature points from the separated command input frame; and

b3) comparing the feature points of the hand gesture with the feature points of the hand gesture image which is pre-registered, and transforming the hand gesture image into a corresponding command.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 8, wherein in the step c), the command announcement message which is pre-set with respect to the command transformed in the hand gesture recognition means is outputted and a corresponding operation is performed.