Shape trace gesturing

• US 8,845,431 B2
• Filed: 05/31/2011
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Langridge, Adam Jethro, Carr, Gary
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol, Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): DUFFY, DAVID W
• Application Number:
  US13/149,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20120309536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,218 Days
• Field of Search: 463 30- 32, 463 36- 38
• US Class Current: 463/36
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/213 comprising photodetecting means, e.g. cameras, photodiodes or infrared cells A63F13/219, A63F13/655 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/42 by mapping the input signals into game commands, e.g. mapping the displacement of a stylus on a touch screen to the steering angle of a virtual vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/80 Special adaptations for executing a specific game genre or game mode
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/1093 using visible light
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6045 for mapping control signals received from the input arrangement into game commands
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/6607 for animating game characters, e.g. skeleton kinematics
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2300/807 Role playing or strategy games
• 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

Abstract

Gestures of a computer user are observed with a depth camera. A trace gesture of the computer user is identified and an action performable within an interactive interface is selected based on the shape of the trace gesture.

Claims

1. A data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by a logic subsystem to:

render an interactive interface for display on a display device;

receive a virtual skeleton including a plurality of joints, the virtual skeleton providing a machine readable representation of a human observed with a depth camera; and

identify a two-handed gesture as one of a plurality of different recognizable two-handed action selection gestures, each of the different recognizable two-handed action selection gestures including two different hands tracing different portions of a same traced shape, each traced shape being associated with a different action executable within the interactive interface.

2. The data-holding subsystem of claim 1, wherein identifying the traced shape includes identifying a position of hand joint in a predetermined ready posture at a beginning of the traced shape.

3. The data-holding subsystem of claim 2, wherein the predetermined ready posture is higher than a head joint of the virtual skeleton.

4. The data-holding subsystem of claim 1, wherein identifying the traced shape includes identifying a position of hand joint in a predetermined ending position at an end of the traced shape.

5. The data-holding subsystem of claim 4, further holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to:

responsive to identifying the hand joint in the predetermined ending position, within the interactive interface, execute an action associated with the traced shape.

6. The data-holding subsystem of claim 1, wherein identifying the two-handed gesture includes identifying a two-dimensional traced shape that is a two-dimensional projection of a path of a left hand joint and a path of a right hand joint onto a tracing plane.

7. The data-holding subsystem of claim 1, wherein identifying the two-handed gesture includes identifying a position of a left hand joint and a position of a right hand joint together in a predetermined ready posture at a beginning of the two-handed gesture.

8. The data-holding subsystem of claim 7, wherein identifying the two-handed gesture includes identifying the position of the left hand joint and the position of the right hand joint within a threshold distance of one another at the beginning of the two-handed gesture.

9. The data-holding subsystem of claim 7, wherein the predetermined ready posture is higher than a head joint of the virtual skeleton.

10. The data-holding subsystem of claim 7, wherein identifying the two-handed gesture includes identifying the position of the left hand joint and the position of the right hand joint returning together to a predetermined ending position at an end of the two-handed gesture.

11. The data-holding subsystem of claim 10, wherein the predetermined ending position is in front of a torso of the virtual skeleton.

12. The data-holding subsystem of claim 10, further holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to:

responsive to identifying the right hand joint and the left hand joint in the predetermined ending position, within the interactive interface, execute an action associated with the two-handed gesture.

13. A method of executing a spell-casting game on a computing system, the method comprising:

identifying a two-handed gesture of a game player as one of a plurality of different recognizable two-handed gestures, each of the different recognizable two-handed gestures including two different hands tracing different portions of a same traceable shape, each traceable shape being associated with a different spell castable within the spell-casting game by a player character controlled by gestures of the game player; and

responsive to identifying a conclusion of the two-handed gesture, casting the spell associated with the traceable shape within the spell-casting game.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the two-handed gesture includes identifying a two-dimensional traced shape that is a two-dimensional projection of a path of a left hand of the game player and a path of a right hand of the game player onto a tracing plane.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the two-handed gesture includes identifying a position of a left hand of the game player and a position of a right hand of the game player together in a predetermined ready posture at a beginning of the two-handed gesture.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the two-handed gesture includes identifying a position of a left hand of the game player and a position of a right hand of the game player returning together to a predetermined ending position at an end of the two-handed gesture.

17. An entertainment system, comprising:

a peripheral input to receive depth images from a depth camera;

a display output to output an interactive interface to a display device;

a logic subsystem operatively connectable to the depth camera via the peripheral input and to the display device via the display output;

a data-holding subsystem holding instructions executable by the logic subsystem to;

receive from the depth camera one or more depth images of a world space scene including a computer user;

model the computer user with a virtual skeleton including a plurality of joints;

recognize a two-dimensional projection of a path of a left hand joint of the virtual skeleton and a path of a right hand joint of the virtual skeleton tracing different portions of a same traced shape onto a tracing plane;

translate the two-dimensional projection as a selected one of a plurality of different two-handed action selection gestures, each two-handed action selection gesture associated with a different action performable within the interactive interface; and

responsive to identifying completion of the selected two-handed action selection gesture, perform within the interactive interface the action associated with the selected two-handed action selection gesture.