OBJECT DETECTION AND TRACKING WITH AUDIO AND OPTICAL SIGNALS
First Claim
1. A method of operating an optical motion-capture system in low-light situations, the method including:
- monitoring at least two contact microphones coupled to an optical motion-capture system, wherein the contact microphones are in contact with a surface that a user touches; and
in response to detection of audio signals generated by contact of an object with the surface that the user touches, tracking a position of the object by;
measuring a time difference of arrival (TDOA) of the audio signals at the contact microphones and mapping surface locations that satisfy the TDOA;
analyzing at least one image, captured by a camera of the optical motion-capture system, of the object in contact with the surface; and
using the image analysis to select among the mapped TDOA surface locations as a surface location of the contact.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The technology disclosed addresses these problems by supplementing optical gesture recognition with the ability to recognize touch gestures. This capability allows the user to execute intuitive gestures involving contact with a surface. For example, in low-light situations where free-form gestures cannot be recognized optically with a sufficient degree of reliability, a device implementing the invention may switch to a touch mode in which touch gestures are recognized. In implementations, two contact microphones or other vibratory or acoustical sensors, that are coupled to an optical motion-capture and are in contact with a surface that a user touches, are monitored. When the contact microphones detect audio signals (or other vibrational phenomena) generated by contact of an object with the surface that the user touches, a position of the object traveling across and in contact with the surface is tracked.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of operating an optical motion-capture system in low-light situations, the method including:
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monitoring at least two contact microphones coupled to an optical motion-capture system, wherein the contact microphones are in contact with a surface that a user touches; and in response to detection of audio signals generated by contact of an object with the surface that the user touches, tracking a position of the object by; measuring a time difference of arrival (TDOA) of the audio signals at the contact microphones and mapping surface locations that satisfy the TDOA; analyzing at least one image, captured by a camera of the optical motion-capture system, of the object in contact with the surface; and using the image analysis to select among the mapped TDOA surface locations as a surface location of the contact. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method of tracking a path of an object of interest traveling across and in contact with a surface, the method comprising:
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capturing, with a camera, a sequence of images of a field of view that includes at least a portion of the surface; capturing audio signals through the surface using at least two microphones; and computationally constructing a 3D model of the object and tracking movement thereof over the surface based on the sequence of images and the audio signals. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. An optical motion-capture system, including:
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a camera for capturing images of an object within a field of view thereof; a contact microphone coupled to the camera and in contact with a surface that a user touches; a sensor for monitoring the contact microphone; a control module for tracking a position of the object, in response to detection of audio signals generated by contact of an object with the surface that the user touches, by; measuring a time difference of arrival (TDOA) of the audio signals at the contact microphones and mapping surface locations that satisfy the TDOA; analyzing at least one image, captured by the camera of the optical motion-capture system, of the object in contact with the surface; and using the image analysis to select among the mapped TDOA surface locations as a surface location of the contact. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification