INTERFACE APPARATUS AND INTERFACE METHOD

• US 20080052643A1
• Filed: 06/01/2007
• Published: 02/28/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Yuasa, Mayumi, Okada, Ryuzo, Kishikawa, Nobuhisa, IKE, Tsukasa, Stenger, Bjorn, Taniguchi, Yasuhiro, Yokoi, Kentaro
• Granted Patent: US 7,844,921 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/446 using Haar-like filters, e.g. using integral image techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113

Abstract

An apparatus for a user to interface with a control object apparatus by a posture or a motion of the user'"'"'s physical part. An image input unit inputs an image including the user'"'"'s physical part. A gesture recognition unit recognizes the posture or the motion of the user'"'"'s physical part from the image. A control unit controls the control object apparatus based on an indication corresponding to the posture or the motion. A gesture information display unit displays an exemplary image of the posture or the motion recognized for the user'"'"'s reference to indicate the control object apparatus.

Claims

1. An apparatus for interfacing with a control object apparatus, comprising:

an image input unit configured to input an image including a user'"'"'s physical part;

a gesture recognition unit configured to recognize a posture or a motion of the user'"'"'s physical part from the image;

a control unit configured to control the control object apparatus based on an indication corresponding to the posture or the motion; and

a gesture information display unit configured to display an exemplary image of the posture or the motion recognized by the gesture recognition unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the user'"'"'s physical part is at least one hand.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays the exemplary image corresponding to the indication.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays a list of exemplary images each corresponding to a different indication.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays menus and the exemplary images.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the gesture information display unit discriminately displays one of the menus based on the indication.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays the posture or the motion recognized by the gesture recognition unit.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the gesture recognition unit includes

a gesture evaluation unit configured to calculate a probability that the posture or the motion is included in each partial region of the image;

a candidate region selection unit configured to select at least one partial region having the highest probability as a physical part candidate region; and

a gesture decision unit configured to decide that the posture or the motion is included in the physical part candidate region if the probability is above a threshold.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the gesture decision unit decides that the posture or the motion included in the physical part candidate region represents which indication.

10. The apparatus according to claim 8,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays the posture or the motion recognized by the gesture recognition unit, and the probability.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays an image of the physical part candidate region.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the gesture information display unit discriminately displays the image of the physical part candidate region based on the indication represented by the posture or the region.

13. The apparatus according to claim 9,

wherein the gesture information display unit discriminately displays the probability that the posture or the motion represents each indication.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13,

wherein the gesture information display unit discriminately displays a graph corresponding to each indication based on the probability.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein the gesture information display unit additionally displays a mark of the threshold on the graph.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14,

wherein the gesture information display unit discriminately displays the exemplary image of the indication represented by the posture or the motion included in the physical part candidate region.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays the exemplary image and the graph, each corresponding to the same indication.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein the gesture information display unit displays a plurality of menus, a plurality of exemplary images, and the graph of each exemplary image, and discriminately displays at least one of the plurality of menus based on the indication.

19. A method for interfacing with a control object apparatus, comprising:

inputting an image including a user'"'"'s physical part;

recognizing a posture or a motion of the user'"'"'s physical part from the image;

controlling the control object apparatus based on an indication corresponding to the posture or the motion; and

displaying an exemplary image of the posture or the motion recognized for the user'"'"'s reference to indicate the control object apparatus.

20. A computer readable medium storing program codes for causing a computer to interface with a control object apparatus, the program codes comprising:

a first program code to input an image including a user'"'"'s physical part;

a second program code to recognize a posture or a motion of the user'"'"'s physical part from the image;

a third program code to control the control object apparatus based on an indication corresponding to the posture or the motion; and

a fourth program code to display an exemplary image of the posture or the motion recognized for the user'"'"'s reference to indicate the control object apparatus.