System and method for recognizing multi-axis gestures based on handheld controller accelerometer outputs

• US 20080291160A1
• Filed: 05/09/2008
• Published: 11/27/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nintendo Company Limited
• Inventors: Rabin, Steve
• Application Number:
  US12/149,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20080291160A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/156
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/10 Control of the course of the game, e.g. start, progess, end
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/211 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/428 involving motion or position input signals, e.g. signals representing the rotation of an input controller or a player's arm motions sensed by accelerometers or gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/45 Controlling the progress of the video game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/5375 for graphically or textually suggesting an action, e.g. by displaying an arrow indicating a turn in a driving game
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/105 using inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/305 for providing a graphical or textual hint to the player
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• 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: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/245 by locating a pattern; Special marks for positioning
• 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 example gesture recognition system and method recognizes a gesture made using a handheld control device comprising an accelerometer arrangement. The example system and method involve a database of example gesture inputs derived from accelerometer arrangement outputs generated by making respective gestures with the handheld control device. Corresponding components of a current gesture input and the example gesture inputs in the database are compared using root mean square calculations and the current input gesture is recognized/not recognized based on results of the comparing.

Claims

1. A gesture recognition system for recognizing a gesture made using a handheld control device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the system comprising:

a database of example gesture inputs derived from accelerometer arrangement outputs generated by making respective gestures with the handheld control device; and

a processing system for comparing corresponding components of a current gesture input and the example gesture inputs in the database using root mean square calculations and for recognizing/not recognizing the current input gesture based on results of the comparing.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the processing system recognizes the gesture corresponding to the database example resulting in the smallest error when compared with the current input gesture as being the current input gesture.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the processing system recognizes the gesture corresponding to the database example resulting in the smallest error when compared with the current input gesture as being the current input gesture only if the smallest error is less than a specified error amount.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the accelerometer arrangement comprises a three-axis accelerometer.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein effects of gravity are removed from the example gesture inputs and the current gesture input.

6. A method for recognizing a gesture made using a handheld control device comprising an accelerometer arrangement, the system comprising:

creating a database of example gesture inputs derived from accelerometer arrangement outputs generated by making respective gestures with the handheld control device;

comparing corresponding components of a current gesture input and the example gesture inputs in the database using root mean square calculations; and

recognizing/not recognizing the current input gesture based on results of the comparing.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the recognizing/not recognizing comprises recognizing the gesture corresponding to the database example resulting in the smallest error when compared with the current input gesture as being the current input gesture.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the recognizing/not recognizing further comprises recognizing the gesture corresponding to the database example resulting in the smallest error when compared with the current input gesture as being the current input gesture only if the smallest error is less than a specified error amount.

9. The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

removing effects of gravity from the example gesture inputs and the current gesture input.

10. A computer-readable medium having computer readable code embodied therein for use in the execution in a computer of a method according to claim 6.