Year

2011

Degree Name

Master of Engineering

Department

University of Wollongong. School of Electrical, Computer and Telecommunications Engineering

Abstract

This research describes a dynamic hand gesture recognition system that can simplify the way humans interact with computers and many other non-critical consumer electronic equipments. The proposed system is based on the well-known "Wave Controller" technology developed at the University of Wollongong [1-3] and will revolutionize video gaming and consumer electronics control interfaces. Currently, computer interfacing mainly involves keyboard, mouse, joystick or gaming wheels and occasionally voice recognition for user input. These modes of interaction have restrained the artistic ability of many users, as they are required to respond to the computer through pressing buttons or moving other apparatus.

Most of the drawbacks associated with the existing human computer interaction devices can be tackled by using a reliable hand gesture recognition system that facilitates interaction between users and computers and other consumer electronic equipment in real time. This will further enhance the user experience as users no longer have any physical connection to the equipment being controlled. This system can also be extended to a sign language system for the benefit of the disabled including those with speech disabilities. Currently (February 2011), this work is incorporated into "Talking Head" robotic displayed at Sydney Power House museum to interact with robot. Public can used hand gestures to manipulate the robot using this research developed here.

This research has culminated in development of the entire dynamic hand gesture system using Open Computer Vision (OpenCV) platform which has dramatically increased the processing speed by about 200% compared to Matlab based processing. This has also resulted in running the entire system on devices such as Smart Phones without the need for Matlab.

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Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.