Recognizing commands with a depth sensor

• US 9,652,043 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2012
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Jia, Charles, Kang, Jinman
• Primary Examiner(s): DAVIS, TONY O
• Application Number:
  US13/470,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20130300659A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,828 Days
• Field of Search: 345697, 345170-175
• 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

Recognizing a command may include monitoring a tangible reference with a depth sensor, maintaining a virtual reference approximately on calibrated three dimensional coordinates of the tangible reference, maintaining a touch space adjacent the virtual reference, and recognizing a command when a predetermined object enters the touch space.

Claims

1. A method for recognizing a command with a depth sensor, comprising:

monitoring a tangible reference at a reference distance from a depth sensor;

maintaining a virtual reference approximately on calibrated three dimensional coordinates derived from said reference distance, said virtual reference intermediary to said tangible reference and said depth sensor;

maintaining a touch space between said virtual reference and a touch boundary separated from said virtual reference by a touch distance; and

recognizing a command when a predetermined object enters said touch space.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining a virtual reference approximately on calibrated three dimensional coordinates derived from said reference distance includes modifying said virtual reference as said tangible reference changes.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said predetermined object is a human hand.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein recognizing a command when a predetermined object enters said touch space includes recognizing a contour of at least one fingertip of said human hand.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein recognizing a command when a predetermined object enters said touch space includes estimating a skeletal structure of said human hand.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising merging data of said contour of said at least one fingertip and said skeletal structure.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said touch distance of said touch space is less than five millimeters.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein recognizing a command when a predetermined object enters said touch space includes recognizing three dimensional gestures as commands.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein forming an image on said tangible reference includes projecting an image onto said tangible reference.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming an image on said tangible reference.

11. A system for recognizing a command, comprising:

a depth sensor positioned to determine a distance that a surface is away from said depth sensor;

a processor in communication with said depth sensor; and

said processor is programmed to;

maintain a virtual reference intermediate to the depth sensor and surface based on continuous input received with said depth sensor;

establish a touch space adjacent said virtual reference; and

track a human hand moving into said touch space.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said processor is further programmed to localize finger tips of said human hand.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein said processor is further programmed to estimate a skeletal structure of said human hand.

14. The system of claim 11, further comprising a projector that forms an image on said tangible reference.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein maintaining a virtual reference includes modifying said virtual reference as said tangible reference changes.

16. A computer program product, comprising:

a tangible computer readable storage medium, said computer readable storage medium comprising computer readable program code embodied therewith, said computer readable program code comprising;

computer readable program code to monitor a distance that a surface is away from a depth sensor; and

computer readable program code to maintain a touch space adjacent a virtual reference based on said surface;

said touch space intermediary to said surface and said depth sensor; and

computer readable program code to recognize a command when a human hand enters said touch space.

17. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising computer readable program code to localize finger tips of said human hand and to estimate a skeletal structure of said human hand.

18. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising computer readable program code to form an image on said tangible reference.

19. The computer program product of claim 16, further comprising computer readable program code to modifying said virtual reference as said tangible reference changes.

20. The computer program product of claim 16, in which said distance that said surface is away from said depth sensor is less than five millimeters.