Method and system for recognizing hand gesture using selective illumination

• US 9,373,026 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2013
• Issued: 06/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Original Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai Motor Group)
• Inventors: Kim, Sung Un, Joo, Sihyun
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Vu
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rivera-Martinez, Guillermo
• Application Number:
  US14/134,691
• Publication Number:
  US 20140185872A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10048 Infrared image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 5/70 Denoising; Smoothing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/194 involving foreground-background segmentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/141 Control of illumination
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113

Abstract

A method and system that recognize a hand gesture using selective illumination that can reliably perform hand gesture recognition by effectively removing an unnecessary image and noise including static disturbance light and dynamic disturbance light are provided. The method of recognizing a hand gesture includes acquiring, by a controller from an imaging device a hand image, which is a recognition target. A static background image and a dynamic background image are removed by the controller from the hand image. The method further includes recognizing, by the controller, a gesture of the hand by extracting a characteristic point from the hand image in which the dynamic background image is removed.

Claims

1. A method of recognizing a hand gesture, the method comprising:

acquiring, by a controller from an imaging device, a hand image, wherein a hand in the hand image is a recognition target by performing on and off control of a lighting device every predetermined frame unit with a predetermined rule;

removing, by the controller, a static background image from the acquired hand image by subtracting the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an off-state from the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an on-state;

removing, by the controller, a dynamic background image acquired when the lighting device is in the off-state from the hand image in which the static background image is removed; and

recognizing, by the controller, a gesture of the hand by extracting a characteristic point from the hand image in which the dynamic background image is removed,

wherein the static background image is static disturbance light of an external light source and the dynamic background image is dynamic disturbance light of an external light source.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined frame unit is three frame units, the predetermined rule turns on the lighting device in a first frame of the three frame units and turns off the lighting device in a second frame and a third frame of the three frame units.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the imaging device that is configured to acquire the image of the hand is an infrared camera and the lighting device is an infrared lighting device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the removing of a static background image further comprises:

acquiring, by the controller, a static disturbance light removal image by subtracting the second frame from the first frame.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the removing of a dynamic background image further comprises:

acquiring, by the controller, a dynamic disturbance light image by subtracting the third frame from the second frame; and

acquiring, by the controller, a dynamic disturbance light removal image by removing the dynamic disturbance light image from the static disturbance light removal image based on the acquired dynamic disturbance light image.

6. A system that recognizes a hand gesture, the system comprising:

an imaging device configured to acquire a hand image, which is a recognition target by performing on and off control of a lighting device every predetermined frame unit with a predetermined rule;

a lighting device configured to illuminate light to allow the imaging device to acquire an image of the hand; and

a controller configured to recognize the gesture of the hand by removing a static background image and a dynamic background image from the image of the hand acquired from the imaging device, wherein the controller is configured to;

acquire from the imaging device a hand image, which is a recognition target;

remove a static background image from the acquired hand image by subtracting the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an off-state from the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an on-state;

remove a dynamic background image acquired when the lighting device is in the off-state from the hand image in which the static background image is removed; and

recognize a gesture of the hand by extracting a characteristic point from the hand image in which the dynamic background image is removed,

wherein the static background image is static disturbance light of an external light source and the dynamic background image is dynamic disturbance light of an external light source.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the imaging device is an infrared camera and the lighting device is an infrared lighting device configured to illuminate infrared rays.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the predetermined frame unit is three frame units, the predetermined rule turns on the lighting device in a first frame of the three frame units and turns off the lighting device in a second frame and a third frame of the three frame units.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the controller is further configured to:

acquire a static disturbance light removal image by subtracting the second frame from the first frame.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to:

acquire a dynamic disturbance light image by subtracting the third frame from the second frame; and

acquire a dynamic disturbance light removal image by removing the dynamic disturbance light image from the static disturbance light removal image based on the acquired dynamic disturbance light image.

11. A system that recognizes a hand gesture, the system comprising:

an imaging device configured to acquire a hand image, which is a recognition target by performing on and off control of a lighting device every predetermined frame unit with a predetermined rule;

a lighting device configured to illuminate light to allow the imaging device to acquire an image of the hand; and

a controller configured to recognize the gesture of the hand by removing a static background image by subtracting the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an off-state from the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an on-state and a dynamic background image from the image of the hand acquired from the imaging device, wherein the controller is configured to;

acquire from the imaging device the hand image;

remove the dynamic background image acquired when the lighting device is in the off-state from the hand image in which the static background image is removed; and

recognize the gesture of the hand by extracting a characteristic point from the hand image in which the dynamic background image is removed, wherein the static background image is static disturbance light of an external light source and the dynamic background image is dynamic disturbance light of an external light source.

12. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions executed by a processor or controller, the computer readable medium comprising:

program instructions that control an imaging device to acquire a hand image, which is a recognition target by performing on and off control of a lighting device every predetermined frame unit with a predetermined rule;

program instructions that control a lighting device configured to illuminate light to allow the imaging device to acquire an image of the hand;

program instructions that acquire from the imaging device a hand image, which is a recognition target;

program instructions that remove a static background image from the acquired hand image by subtracting the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an off-state from the hand image acquired when the lighting device is in an on-state;

program instructions that remove a dynamic background image acquired when the lighting device is in the off-state from the hand image in which the static background image is removed; and

program instructions that recognize a gesture of the hand by extracting a characteristic point from the hand image in which the dynamic background image is removed,

wherein the static background image is static disturbance light of an external light source and the dynamic background image is dynamic disturbance light of an external light source.

13. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 12, wherein the predetermined frame unit is three frame units, the predetermined rule turns on the lighting device in a first frame of the three frame units and turns off the lighting device in a second frame and a third frame of the three frame units.