other works you can check at http://golod.eu/
short Prezi with photos:
http://bit.ly/10Q7sBr
For 30 years the idea of gesture interface has inspired HCI researches to develop various systems utilizing gesture input. Different projects to control objects in computer augmented and domestic smart environments using gestures were created. Recent developments in the hardware field have made it more affordable and robust to use gesturebased input. Besides, the new depth-sensing technology based on the recognition of an IR-light pattern deformation is nonintrusive and much more ubiquitous than previous sensor-based wearable interfaces.
In the present work disadvantages of systems based on non-intuitive and hard to learn gesture-languages will be discussed. Besides, the problem of 3D (free in space) gestures in terms of the degree of guidance is discussed. To overcome these issues a self-revealing gesture-interface based on a projected pie menu is proposed, which allows to guide the user through possible gestures and to learn them. In addition, to overcome the immersion syndrome problem (the system does not know about the user's intention to interact) special activation gestures are discussed and tested. In order to interact with the pie menu, a hand-recognition algorithm based on the processing of a depth map is developed.
The present work was written in the framework of the Counter Entropy House project, an energy-efficient solar-powered house built by RWTH Aachen University students for the Solar Decathlon competition. Therefore, the context of use of the developed interface is the domestic space. Besides common home automation applications, e.g. to control lights and doors, the concept of microinteractions was used to provide the inhabitant with additional, often used and helpful functions, such as an audio reminder or the control of music. In addition to the proposed gesture input based on the pie menu, also deictic gesture input was used. This feature allows the user to select the object he wants to control by pointing at it. A kitchen table was used as an ubiquitous everyday surface. The depth-sensor and the projector were hidden within a lamp above the table. The supposed application of the described system is not limited to a table, but can also be applied to a wall or other everyday surfaces.
