Complex Gesture Control Enabled by 3D Cameras Tracking Fingers
By Karla Robinson
October 8, 2012
October 8, 2012
- After the Kinect for Xbox took off for enhanced gaming, many have imagined other uses for the motion-recognition technology. But when it comes to personal computing, the Kinect cannot quickly and accurately detect hand and finger movement. 3Gear wants to change this.
- The San Francisco startup has created a gesture interface that can track finger movements using two 3D cameras positioned above the user on either side.
- “3Gear’s system uses two depth cameras (the same type used with Kinect) that capture 30 frames per second. The position of a user’s hands and fingers are matched to a database of 30,000 potential hand and finger configurations,” which takes only 33 milliseconds, explains Technology Review.
- 3Gear has made the technology available to developers for free until November 30.
- “The hope is that developers will create useful applications that will expand the reach of 3Gear’s hand-tracking algorithms,” notes the article. “Eventually, says Robert Wang, who co-founded the company, 3Gear’s technology could be used by engineers to craft 3D objects, by gamers who want precision play, by surgeons who need to manipulate 3D data during operations, and by anyone who wants a computer to do her bidding with a wave of the finger.”
- Interest in gesture-recognition has increased, but in personal computing the technology must compete with the familiar keyboard and mouse.
- “One problem with gestural interfaces — as well as touch-screen desktop displays — is that they can be uncomfortable to use,” the article states. “They sometimes lead to an ache dubbed ‘gorilla arm.’ As a result, Wang says, 3Gear focused on making its gesture interface practical and comfortable.”
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