RFID system for gesture recognition, information coding, and processing

• US 8,279,091 B1
• Filed: 11/03/2009
• Issued: 10/02/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Original Assignee: the united states of america as represented by the secretary of the navy
• Inventors: Tran, Nghia, Fugate, Sunny, Ellen, Jeffrey, Duffy, Lorraine, Phan, Hoa
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Albert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehravar, Peter
• Application Number:
  US12/611,861
• Time in Patent Office: 1,064 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.26, 340/539.22, 340/539.11, 341 20- 34
• US Class Current: 341/20
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/014 Hand-worn input/output arrangements, e.g. data gloves
• 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

A system includes a controller and an RFID sensor, an RFID sensor reader having a detection region, and a transceiver connected to the controller. The system may be secured to or contained within a wearable glove. The RFID sensor is configured to transmit an RFID sensor signal to the RFID sensor reader when the RFID sensor is within the detection region. The RFID sensor reader is configured to transmit an RFID sensor reader signal to the controller after receiving the RFID sensor signal. The controller is configured to transmit a signal to the transceiver after receiving the RFID sensor reader signal. The signal may include input from a motion sensor and/or an orientation sensor connected to the controller. The transceiver may transmit the signal to a remote processor via an antenna. The signal may be used for gesture recognition, information coding, and/or information processing.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a wearable glove having a palm portion and a plurality of finger portions;

an RFID sensor reader, coupled to the wearable glove, having a detection region;

plurality of RFID sensors, wherein each RFID sensor is coupled to the wearable glove near the tip of each finger portion and each tag is moveable between a position outside the detection region and a position inside the detection region;

a controller, coupled to the wearable glove and connected to the RFID sensor reader, wirelessly connected to each RFID sensor via the RFID sensor reader; and

a transceiver, coupled to the wearable glove, connected to the controller

wherein the controller is configured to determine a hand gesture by a user of the wearable glove for communication by the transceiver based on a particular pattern of whether each of the respective RFID sensors is located within the detection region and to transmit a signal corresponding to the determined hand gesture.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a motion sensor connected to the controller; and

an orientation sensor connected to the controller

wherein the controller receives sensor signals from at least one of the motion sensor and the orientation sensor.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the motion sensor is an accelerometer and the orientation sensor is a gyroscope.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the RFID sensor reader is configured to transmit an RFID sensor reader signal to the controller after receiving an RFID sensor signal from one or more of the RFID sensors, wherein the controller determines the hand gesture based upon the received RFID sensor signals and the received RFID sensor reader signal.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to transmit the signal corresponding to the determined hand gesture to the transceiver after receiving the received RFID sensor signals and the received RFID sensor reader signal.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the transceiver is configured to transmit the signal corresponding to the determined hand gesture to a remote processor.