Systems and methods for authenticating a user according to a hand of the user moving in a three-dimensional (3D) space

• US 10,565,784 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2019
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ultrahaptics Ip Two Limited (Ultraleap Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Ultrahaptics Ip Two Limited (Ultraleap Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: Holz, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Fitzpatrick, Atiba O
• Application Number:
  US16/566,569
• Publication Number:
  US 20200005530A1
• Time in Patent Office: 161 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0138 comprising image capture systems, e.g. camera
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0141 characterised by the informative content of the display
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 2027/0187 slaved to motion of at least a part of the body of the user, e.g. head, eye
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 27/0172 characterised by optical features
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• 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 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/04 Texture mapping
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/205 Image-based rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/006 Mixed reality object pose determination, tracking or camera calibration for mixed reality G06T7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/04 involving 3D image data
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/08 involving all processing steps from image acquisition to 3D model generation
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10012 Stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10016 Video; Image sequence
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/292 Multi-camera tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/344 involving models
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/586 from multiple light sources, e.g. photometric stereo
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/593 : from stereo images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/60 : Analysis of geometric attributes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/70 : Determining position or orientation of objects or cameras camera calibration G06T7/80
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/75 : involving models
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/25 : Determination of region of interest [ROI] or a volume of interest [VOI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/64 : Three-dimensional objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/107 : Static hand or arm
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/11 : Hand-related biometrics; Hand pose recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/117 : Biometrics derived from hands
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/28 : Recognition of hand or arm movements, e.g. recognition of deaf sign language static hand signs G06V40/113
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 13/207 : using a single 2D image sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 : for receiving images from a single remote source

Abstract

Methods and systems for capturing motion and/or determining the shapes and positions of one or more objects in 3D space utilize cross-sections thereof. In various embodiments, images of the cross-sections are captured using a camera based on edge points thereof.

Claims

1. A system for authenticating a user according to a hand of the user moving in a three-dimensional (3D) space, the system comprising:

one or more processors coupled to a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, implement actions including;

analyzing a sequence of images including the hand of the user moving in the 3D space, as captured by a camera from a particular vantage point, to (i) computationally determine a shape of the hand of the user according to one or more mathematically represented 3D surfaces of the hand and (ii) computationally determine a jitter pattern of the hand; and

in response to a received authentication determination obtained by performing a comparison of the shape of the hand and the jitter pattern of the hand to a database of hand shapes and jitter patterns, authenticating the user and granting access to the user when the authentication determination indicates that the user is authorized and denying access to the user when the authentication determination indicates that the user is not authorized.

2. The system of claim 1, further including:

at least one source that casts an output onto a portion of the hand of the user.

3. The system of claim 1, further including transmitting to at least one further process, a signal that includes at least one selected from (i) trajectory information determined from a reconstructed position of a portion of the hand of the user that the at least one further process interprets, and (ii) gesture information interpreted from trajectory information for the portion of the hand of the user.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising a time-of-flight camera, and wherein a plurality of points on at least one surface of a portion of the hand of the user are determined from time-of-flight data.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that combine time-of-flight data with tangent-line information to provide a more detailed model of the shape of the portion of the hand of the user.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implements actions that analyze the 3D surfaces of the hand to produce a 3D model.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that refine a 3D model by correlating a cross-section of a portion of the hand of the user represented by a first surface with a cross-section of at least one different hand portion represented by at least one different 3D surface.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that refine a 3D model based on at least one of a hand type of a portion of the hand of the user and characteristics of the hand type.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that refine a 3D model by informing results of the analyzing with results of such analyzing as conducted on a sequence of images obtained at a different time and correspondingly modifying the 3D model.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that refine a position of a portion of the hand of the user based upon informing results of the analyzing with results of such analyzing as conducted on a sequence of images obtained at a different time.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that determine constraints on at least one of a number and position of one or more portions of the hand of the user according a hand type.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that resolve an at least partially occluded portion of the hand of the user by conducting spatial correlations across surfaces.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that capture one or more additional image sets of two or more images, and resolve an at least partially occluded portion of the hand of the user by conducting temporal correlations across image sets.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that resolve an at least partially occluded portion of the hand of the user by applying physical constraints of a hand type.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that refine a 3D model formed by the one or more mathematically represented 3D surfaces of the hand.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the 3D model represents an unrefined hand model and the refining of the 3D model comprises texture mapping details from image capture onto the unrefined hand model.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more processors further implement actions that morph the 3D model according to detected hand orientation and motion.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the refining of the 3D model includes refining the 3D model based at least in part upon one of continuity in motion and continuity in deformation.

19. A method of using a system to authenticate a user according to a hand of the user moving in a three-dimensional (3D) space, the method comprising:

executing instructions on one or more processors of the system to implement actions including;

analyzing a sequence of images including the hand of the user moving in the 3D space, as captured by a camera from a particular vantage point, to (i) computationally determine a shape of the hand of the user according to one or more mathematically represented 3D surfaces of the hand and (ii) computationally determine a jitter pattern of the hand; and

in response to a received authentication determination obtained by performing a comparison of the shape of the hand and the jitter pattern of the hand to a database of hand shapes and jitter patterns, authenticating the user and granting access to the user when the authentication determination indicates that the user is authorized and denying access to the user when the authentication determination indicates that the user is not authorized.

20. A head mounted device, comprising:

an optical assembly to display a displayed environment including at least one of a surrounding three-dimensional (3D) environment and a virtual environment, the surrounding 3D environment including at least a portion of a hand of a user; and

a system for authenticating the user according to the hand of the user moving in the 3D environment, the system including;

one or more processors coupled to a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, implement actions including;

analyzing a sequence of images including the hand of the user moving in the 3D environment, as captured by a camera from a particular vantage point, to (i) computationally determine a shape of the hand of the user according to one or more mathematically represented 3D surfaces of the hand and (ii) computationally determine a jitter pattern of the hand; and

in response to a received authentication determination obtained by performing a comparison of the shape of the hand and the jitter pattern of the hand to a database of hand shapes and jitter patterns, authenticating the user and granting access to the user when the authentication determination indicates that the user is authorized and denying access to the user when the authentication determination indicates that the user is not authorized.