USER INTERFACE METHOD AND APPARATUS BASED ON SPATIAL LOCATION RECOGNITION

• US 20150185857A1
• Filed: 06/05/2013
• Published: 07/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kmt Global Inc.
• Original Assignee: Kmt Global Inc.
• Inventors: Jung, Moonjin
• Application Number:
  US14/405,403
• Publication Number:
  US 20150185857A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/005 Input arrangements through a video camera
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/01 Input arrangements or combined input and output arrangements for interaction between user and computer G06F3/16 takes precedence
• 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 3/03 Arrangements for converting the position or the displacement of a member into a coded form
• 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 3/0346 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: G06F 3/0426 tracking fingers with respect to a virtual keyboard projected or printed on the surface virtual keyboards on touch screens G06F3/04886
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10028 Range image; Depth image; 3D point clouds
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30196 Human being; Person
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• 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

The apparatus includes an image acquirer for generating capturing information by capturing a target object in a three-dimensional space, a location calculator for calculating a location value of the target object in a virtual space divided into a plurality of zones based on the capturing information, a comparison comparator for determining whether the location value of the target object is included in one of the plurality of zones by comparing the location value of the target object with a reference location database, and an event signal processor for generating an event execution signal for executing an event corresponding to the zone, if it is determined that the location value of the target object is included in the zone.

Claims

1. A user interface method based on spatial location recognition, the method comprising:

generating capturing information by capturing a target object in a three-dimensional space by an image acquirer;

calculating a location value of the target object in a virtual space divided into a plurality of zones based on the capturing information by a location calculator;

determining whether the location value of the target object is included in one of the plurality of zones by comparing the location value of the target object with a reference location database by a comparison comparator; and

generating an event execution signal for executing an event corresponding to the zone by an event signal processor, if it is determined that the location value of the target object is included in the zone,

wherein the reference location database is configured to calculate location values of the target object in the virtual space repeatedly a predetermined number of times and to have a three-dimensional distribution within a predetermined standard deviation for each of the plurality of zones based on the calculated location values.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the image acquirer includes at least one depth-sensing camera and generates the capturing information by capturing the target object in the three-dimensional space using the at least one depth-sensing camera.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the location value of the target object is a vector in the three-dimensional space, calculated based on a motion of the target object.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the vector is calculated by converting an image variation in the motion of the target object in a virtual matrix divided into X, Y, and Z-axis zones into data.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, before the generation of capturing information, determining whether the target object is located in a predetermined space by a function activator and determining whether to generate capturing information by capturing the target object in the three-dimensional space by the image acquirer.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the function activator includes an infrared image sensor for determining whether the target object is located in the predetermined space.

7. A user interface apparatus based on spatial location recognition, the apparatus comprising:

an image acquirer for generating capturing information by capturing a target object in a three-dimensional space;

a location calculator for calculating a location value of the target object in a virtual space divided into a plurality of zones based on the capturing information;

a comparison comparator for determining whether the location value of the target object is included in one of the plurality of zones by comparing the location value of the target object with a reference location database; and

an event signal processor for generating an event execution signal for executing an event corresponding to the zone, if it is determined that the location value of the target object is included in the zone,

wherein the reference location database is configured to calculate location values of the target object in the virtual space repeatedly a predetermined number of times and to have a three-dimensional distribution within a predetermined standard deviation for each of the plurality of zones based on the calculated location values.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image acquirer includes at least one depth-sensing camera and generates the capturing information by capturing the target object in the three-dimensional space using the at least one depth-sensing camera.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the location value of the target object is a vector in the three-dimensional space, calculated based on a motion of the target object.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the vector is calculated by converting an image variation in the motion of the target object in a virtual matrix divided into X, Y, and Z-axis zones into data.

11. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a function activator for determining whether to activate a function of the image acquirer by determining whether the target object is located in a predetermined space.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein only when the target object is located in the predetermined space, the function activator activates the function of the image acquirer.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the function activator includes an infrared image sensor for determining whether the target object is located in the predetermined space.

14. A user interface apparatus based on spatial location recognition, the apparatus comprising:

a hand motion sensor disposed in the vicinity of a virtual space divided into a plurality of predefined zones and configured to sense a motion of a hand entering one of the zones of the virtual space, to capture the sensed hand motion, and to generate a vector value of the hand motion;

a location calculator configured to calculate a location of the finger motion in the one of the zones using the vector value; and

a controller configured to generate an event generation signal for executing an event corresponding to the location of the finger motion in the one of the zones, received from the location calculator.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the hand motion sensor includes at least one of an optical proximity sensor and an illumination sensor.

16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the vector value is computed by converting an image change of the hand motion in a virtual matrix divided into X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis zones into data.