Camera Power Control Using Hand Gesture Shutdown
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Solution Overview
Problem
Activating the stop video icon to turn off a camera in video conferencing applications can be challenging due to overlapping windows or varying icon locations and sizes, making it difficult to quickly deactivate the camera.
Innovation Solution
A computing device with a camera and processor that recognizes a hand in a specific configuration moving towards the camera to automatically turn it off, using image processing techniques such as machine learning or deep learning to identify hand gestures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual input device activation is used to turn off the camera, then the camera can be turned off, but the operation becomes complex and time-consuming due to overlapping windows and varying icon locations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical input device interaction (keyboard, mouse) with an optical recognition system using the camera itself to detect hand gestures. The processor analyzes video frames to identify hand configurations and movement patterns, substituting physical input mechanisms with automated visual recognition to control camera shutdown.
Solution Approach 2:
The camera system performs its own shutdown function by using its captured video feed to detect the user's hand gesture. The system serves itself by processing its own output (video frames) to trigger the shutdown action, eliminating the need for external input devices or complex window navigation.
2Ease of operation
If the stop video icon is made accessible, then the camera can be turned off, but the interface complexity increases with multiple windows and varying icon layouts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the graphical user interface interaction (clicking stop video icons in various window layouts) with an optical gesture recognition system. The camera captures hand gestures, and the processor analyzes frame sequences to detect specific hand configurations and movements, substituting complex UI navigation with simple gesture-based control.
3Productivity
If hand gesture recognition is implemented, then camera shutdown becomes simple and quick, but the system requires additional processing capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the camera serve multiple functions: it both captures video for conferencing and processes video frames for gesture recognition. The same camera hardware and processor used for normal video operations are leveraged to detect hand gestures, eliminating the need for separate sensors or dedicated gesture recognition hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex input device operations with optical gesture recognition processed by the existing CPU or GPU. The system uses standard video processing capabilities to analyze hand configurations and movements in video frames, substituting mechanical input processing with algorithmic image analysis using existing computational resources.
Data Source
AI summary
An example device comprises: a camera; and a processor. The processor is to receive successive images from the camera. The processor is further to, in response to determining both that: there is a hand in a particular configuration in the successive images; and the hand in the particular configuration in the successive images is moving towards the camera: turn off the camera.