Virtual Skeleton Gesture Control for Depth Camera Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current technologies cannot accurately interpret human movements within images without the use of special reflective tags or markers, limiting the ability of computers to understand and respond to human gestures in a natural way.
Innovation Solution
A depth-image analysis system uses a 3D camera to model a human target with a virtual skeleton, allowing the system to interpret gestures and translate them into control inputs for applications such as gaming or operating systems, eliminating the need for conventional controllers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If reflective tags or markers are used to track human movements, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation worsen due to requiring special equipment on the user
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the tracking markers from the user body and places them only in the environment. The virtual skeleton system detects human movements by tracking these environmental markers relative to the user, eliminating the need for users to wear or attach any equipment while maintaining measurement precision through the markers' presence in the capture volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary virtual skeleton model that acts as a mediator between the physical user and the digital tracking system. The virtual skeleton is constructed by the system based on environmental marker positions, serving as an intermediate representation that enables movement detection without requiring direct marker attachment to the user.
2Measurement precision
If multiple cameras and tracking tags are used to capture human movement, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the tracking functionality from the user domain and relocates it to the environmental domain. By placing markers only in the environment and using a virtual skeleton constructed from camera data, the system maintains three-dimensional position accuracy while reducing the complexity of user-facing tracking components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy (virtual skeleton) of the user's skeletal structure that is constructed and manipulated by the system based on environmental marker data. This virtual copy enables precise movement tracking without requiring physical markers on the user, effectively copying the tracking function into the digital domain where it can be managed more simply.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual skeleton includes a plurality of joints and provides a machine readable representation of a human target observed with a three-dimensional depth camera. A relative position of a hand joint of the virtual skeleton is translated as a gestured aiming vector control, and a virtual weapon is aimed in proportion to the gestured aiming vector control.