Computer Vision for Interactive Computer Graphics

Computers looking through a camera at people is a potentially powerful technique to facilitate human-computer interaction. The computer can interpret the userś movements, gestures, and glances. Fundamental visual algorithms include tracking, shape recognition, and motion analysis. We describe several vision algorithms for interactive graphics, and present various vision controlled graphics applications which we have built which use them: vision-based computer games, a hand signal recognition system, and a television set controlled by hand gestures. Some of these applications can employ a special artificial retina chip for image detection or pre-processing. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, May-June, 1998, pp. 42-53 This work may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part for any commercial purpose. Permission to copy in whole or in part without payment of fee is granted for nonprofit educational and research purposes provided that all such whole or partial copies include the following: a notice that such copying is by permission of Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.; an acknowledgment of the authors and individual contributions to the work; and all applicable portions of the copyright notice. Copying, reproduction, or republishing for any other purpose shall require a license with payment of fee to Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright c ©Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc., 1999 201 Broadway, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139