Distance scalable no touch computing

• US 8,843,857 B2
• Filed: 11/19/2009
• Issued: 09/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Berkes, Otto G., Bathiche, Steven, Clavin, John, LeGrow, Ian, Molnar, Joseph Reginald Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Roswell, Michael
• Application Number:
  US12/621,989
• Publication Number:
  US 20110119640A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,769 Days
• Field of Search: 715/863, 715/763, 715/810
• US Class Current: 715/863
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/011 Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality blind teaching G09B21/00
• 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 3/0304 Detection arrangements using opto-electronic means constructional details of pointing devices not related to the detection arrangement using opto-electronic means G06F3/033; optical digitisers G06F3/042
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0488 using a touch-screen or digitiser, e.g. input of commands through traced gestures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 30/242 Division of the character sequences into groups prior to recognition; Selection of dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/20 Movements or behaviour, e.g. gesture recognition recognition of facial expressions G06V40/16

Abstract

Disclosed herein are techniques for scaling and translating gestures such that the applicable gestures for control may vary depending on the user'"'"'s distance from a gesture-based system. The techniques for scaling and translation may take the varying distances from which a user interacts with components of the gesture-based system, such as a computing environment or capture device, into consideration with respect to defining and/or recognizing gestures. In an example embodiment, the physical space is divided into virtual zones of interaction, and the system may scale or translate a gesture based on the zones. A set of gesture data may be associated with each virtual zone such that gestures appropriate for controlling aspects of the gesture-based system may vary throughout the physical space.

Claims

1. A method for gesture recognition, the method comprising:

receiving data of a physical space, wherein the received data is representative of a user and a user'"'"'s gesture in the physical space;

correlating a position of the user in the physical space to a plurality of virtual zones, wherein each of said plurality of virtual zones is representative of a respective portion of the physical space;

determining a preferred detection order for the plurality of virtual zones;

comparing the received data to gesture data according to an ordering of sets of the gesture data, wherein

(i) each of said plurality of virtual zones is associated with a respective set of gesture data, and

(ii) the ordering of the sets of gesture data is in accordance with the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones each associated with a respective set of gesture data; and

identifying the user'"'"'s gesture from at least one of the sets of gesture data, wherein, when the user'"'"'s gesture does not correspond to a set of gesture data associated with a most preferred virtual zone in the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones, a set of gesture data associated with each next most preferred virtual zone is attempted until the user'"'"'s gesture is identified.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to a virtual zone when at least one of (i) the position of the user is within the portion of the physical space represented by the virtual zone, (ii) the position of the user is within a predetermined distance from the portion of the physical space represented by the virtual zone, or (iii) the position of the user is adjacent to a boundary of the virtual zone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to first and second virtual zones, wherein the first and second virtual zones represent an overlapping portion of the physical space and the user'"'"'s position is within the overlapping portion of the physical space.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is determined based on a probabilistic approach.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to two virtual zones when the user'"'"'s position crosses a boundary between the two virtual zones within a predetermined time period, wherein the sets of gesture data associated with each of the two virtual zones is given a same position in the preferred detection order such that comparing received data to the gesture data comprises comparing the received data to both sets of gesture data.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is an order corresponding to an increasing distance of the position of the user to each of the plurality of virtual zones.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is an order corresponding to a level of correlation between the received data representative of the user'"'"'s gesture and the gesture data in the sets of gesture data associated with each of the plurality of virtual zones.

8. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for gesture recognition, the instructions comprising:

receiving data of a physical space, wherein the received data is representative of a user and a user'"'"'s gesture in the physical space;

correlating a position of the user in the physical space to a plurality of virtual zones, wherein each of said plurality of virtual zones is representative of a respective portion of the physical space;

determining a preferred detection order for the plurality of virtual zones;

comparing the received data to gesture data according to an ordering of sets of the gesture data, wherein

(i) each of said plurality of virtual zones is associated with a respective set of gesture data, and

(ii) the ordering of the sets of gesture data is in accordance with the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones each associated a respective set of gesture data; and

identifying the user'"'"'s gesture from at least one of the sets of gesture data, wherein, when the user'"'"'s gesture does not correspond to a set of gesture data associated with a most preferred virtual zone in the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones, a set of gesture data associated with each next most preferred virtual zone is attempted until the user'"'"'s gesture is identified.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to a virtual zone when at least one of (i) the position of the user is within the portion of the physical space represented by the virtual zone, (ii) the position of the user is within a predetermined distance from the portion of the physical space represented by the virtual zone, or (iii) the position of the user is adjacent to a boundary of the virtual zone.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to first and second virtual zones, wherein the first and second virtual zones represent an overlapping portion of the physical space and the user'"'"'s position is within the overlapping portion of the physical space.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is determined based on a probabilistic approach.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to two virtual zones when the user'"'"'s position crosses a boundary between the two virtual zones within a predetermined time period, wherein the sets of gesture data associated with each of the two virtual zones is given a same position in the preferred detection order such that comparing received data to the gesture data comprises comparing the received data to both sets of gesture data.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is an order corresponding to an increasing distance of the position of the user to each of the plurality of virtual zones.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is an order corresponding to a level of correlation between the received data representative of the user'"'"'s gesture and the gesture data in the sets of gesture data associated with each of the plurality of virtual zones.

15. A system comprising:

a processor;

memory having stored therein computer-executable instructions for gesture recognition, the instructions, when executed by the processor, at least causing;

receiving data of a physical space, wherein the received data is representative of a user and a user'"'"'s gesture in the physical space;

correlating a position of the user in the physical space to a plurality of virtual zones, wherein each of said plurality of virtual zones is representative of a respective portion of the physical space;

determining a preferred detection order for the plurality of virtual zones;

comparing the received data to gesture data according to an ordering of sets of the gesture data, wherein

(i) each of said plurality of virtual zones is associated with a respective set of gesture data, and

(ii) the ordering of the sets of gesture data is in accordance with the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones each associated with a respective set of gesture data; and

identifying the user'"'"'s gesture from at least one of the sets of gesture data, wherein, when the user'"'"'s gesture does not correspond to a set of gesture data associated with a most preferred virtual zone in the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones, a set of gesture data associated with each next most preferred virtual zone is attempted until the user'"'"'s gesture is identified.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to a virtual zone when at least one of (i) the position of the user is within the portion of the physical space represented by the virtual zone, (ii) the position of the user is within a predetermined distance from the portion of the physical space represented by the virtual zone, or (iii) the position of the user is adjacent to a boundary of the virtual zone.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to first and second virtual zones, wherein the first and second virtual zones represent an overlapping portion of the physical space and the user'"'"'s position is within the overlapping portion of the physical space.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is determined based on a probabilistic approach.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the user'"'"'s position correlates to two virtual zones when the user'"'"'s position crosses a boundary between the two virtual zones within a predetermined time period, wherein the sets of gesture data associated with each of the two virtual zones is given a same position in the preferred detection order such that comparing received data to the gesture data comprises comparing the received data to both sets of gesture data.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the preferred detection order of the plurality of virtual zones is an order corresponding to an increasing distance of the position of the user to each of the plurality of virtual zones.