Gesture Recognition

• US 20120131514A1
• Filed: 11/19/2010
• Published: 05/24/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Izadi, Shahram, Ansell, Peter John
• Granted Patent: US 9,870,141 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/03543 Mice or pucks G06F3/03541 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04883 for inputting data by handwriting, e.g. gesture or text

Abstract

Gesture recognition is described. In one example, gestures performed by a user of an input device having a touch-sensitive portion are detected using a definition of a number of regions corresponding to zones on the touch-sensitive portion, each region being associated with a distinct set of gestures. Data describing movement of the user'"'"'s digits on the touch-sensitive portion is received, and an associated region for the data determined. The data is compared to the associated region'"'"'s set of gestures, and a gesture applicable to the data selected. A command associated with the selected gesture can then be executed. In an example, comparing the data to the set of gestures comprises positioning a threshold for each gesture relative to the start of the digit'"'"'s movement. The digit'"'"'s location is compared to each threshold to determine whether a threshold has been crossed, and, if so, selecting the gesture associated with that threshold.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method of detecting gestures performed by a user of an input device having a touch-sensitive portion, comprising:

loading, at a processor, a definition of a plurality of regions corresponding to zones on the touch-sensitive portion of the input device, wherein each region in the plurality of regions is associated with a distinct set of gestures;

receiving, at the processor, data describing movement of at least one digit of the user on the touch-sensitive portion of the input device;

determining, from the data and the definition of the plurality of regions, an associated region for the data;

comparing the data to the associated region'"'"'s set of gestures and selecting a gesture applicable to the data; and

executing, on the processor, a command associated with the gesture selected.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the data comprises a start coordinate for the or each digit.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the data further comprises a current coordinate for the or each digit.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein each gesture in each set of gestures is defined by at least one threshold vector located at a predefined position relative to the start coordinate.

5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the step of comparing comprises:

for the or each digit, comparing the current coordinate to each threshold vector in the associated region'"'"'s set of gestures to determine whether the movement of the digit from the start coordinate has crossed that threshold vector, and, if so, storing the gesture associated with that threshold vector.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein, in the case that the gesture stored is a single-digit gesture, the step of selecting a gesture applicable to the data comprises selecting the gesture stored.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein, in the case that the gesture stored is a gesture using input from a predefined number of digits, the step of selecting a gesture applicable to the data comprises selecting the gesture if the same gesture is stored for the predefined number of digits.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein each threshold vector is associated with a priority value, and the step of comparing comprises comparing the current coordinate to each threshold vector in the associated region'"'"'s set to gestures to determine whether the movement of the digit from the start coordinate has crossed that threshold vector in priority value order.

9. A method according to claim 3, further comprising the step of detecting from the data that a digit has not moved from its current coordinate for more than a predefined time period, and, if so, replacing the start coordinate with the current coordinate for that digit.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein the gestures comprise at least one of a momentary gesture and a continuous gesture.

11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the gestures comprise at least one of:

a tap gesture;

a swipe gesture;

a pan gesture;

a pinch gesture; and

a flick gesture.

12. A method according to claim 1, wherein the command comprises at least one of:

a zoom command, a scroll command;

a command to maximize a window;

a command to minimize a window; and

a command to switch windows.

13. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of generating an output value from the data relating to at least one of the magnitude or direction of the movement.

14. A method according to claim 13, further comprising providing the output value as an argument to the command associated with the gesture selected.

15. A computer system, comprising:

a memory;

an output interface;

an input interface arranged to receive data from an input device having a touch-sensitive portion, the data describing movement of at least one digit of a user on the touch-sensitive portion; and

a processor arranged to display a user interface on a display device via the output interface, load from the memory a definition of a plurality of regions corresponding to zones on the touch-sensitive portion of the input device, each region in the plurality of regions having a distinct set of gestures associated therewith, determine from the data and the definition of the plurality of regions an associated region for the data, compare the data to the set of gestures for the associated region to select a gesture applicable to the data, and update the user interface via the output interface in accordance with a function associated with the gesture selected.

16. A computer system according to claim 15, wherein the input device is a multi-touch mouse device.

17. A computer system according to claim 15, wherein the zones on the touch-sensitive portion of the input device correspond to areas of the touch-sensitive portion that are associated with one or more of the user'"'"'s digits.

18. A computer system according to claim 17, wherein the zones on the touch-sensitive portion of the input device comprise a thumb zone that is predominantly in contact with the user'"'"'s thumb.

19. A computer system according to claim 17, wherein the zones on the touch-sensitive portion of the input device comprise a finger region that is predominantly in contact with one or more of the user'"'"'s fingers.

20. One or more tangible device-readable media with device-executable instructions that, when executed by a computing system, direct the computing system to perform steps comprising:

loading, from a memory, a definition of a plurality of regions corresponding to zones on a touch-sensitive portion of a mouse device, wherein each region in the plurality of regions is associated with a distinct set of gestures;

receiving data describing movement of a digit of a user on the touch-sensitive portion of the mouse device, wherein the data comprises a start location and a current location for the digit;

determining, from the start location and the definition of the plurality of regions, an associated region for the data, and, for each gesture in the associated region'"'"'s set of gestures, calculating a position for at least one threshold vector relative to the start location;

comparing the current location to each threshold vector in the associated region'"'"'s set of gestures to determine whether the movement of the digit from the start location has crossed that threshold vector, and, if so, selecting the gesture associated with that threshold vector; and

executing a command associated with the gesture selected.