Real-Time Vision for Human-Computer Interaction

200Ts Vision of Vision One of my formative childhood experiences was in 1968 stepping into the Uptown Theater on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, DC, one of the few movie theaters nationwide that projected in large-screen cinerama. I was there at the urging of a friend, who said I simply must see the remarkable film whose run had started the previous week. "You won't understand it," he said, "but that doesn't matter. " All I knew was that the film was about science fiction and had great special eflPects. So I sat in the front row of the balcony, munched my popcorn, sat back, and experienced what was widely touted as "the ultimate trip:" 2001: A Space Odyssey. My friend was right: I didn't understand it. . . but in some senses that didn't matter. (Even today, after seeing the film 40 times, I continue to discover its many subtle secrets. ) I just had the sense that I had experienced a creation of the highest aesthetic order: unique, fresh, awe inspiring. Here was a film so distinctive that the first half hour had no words whatsoever; the last half hour had no words either; and nearly all the words in between were banal and irrelevant to the plot - quips about security through Voiceprint identification, how to make a phonecall from a space station, government pension plans, and so on.

As computers become prevalent in all aspects of daily life, the need for natural and effective Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) becomes increasingly important. Computer vision and pattern recognition continue to play a dominant role in the HCI realm. However, computer vision methods often fail to become pervasive in the field due to the lack of real-time, robust algorithms, as well as novel and convincing applications.

This state-of-the-art contributed volume presents a series of peer-reviewed survey articles written by international leading experts in computer vision, pattern recognition and Human-Computer Interaction. It is the first published text capturing the latest research in this rapidly advancing field with exclusive focus on real-time algorithms and practical applications in numerous industries, including computer games and medical and automotive systems. It is also an excellent starting point for further research in these areas.

Contributions to this volume address specific topics such as:

Real-Time Algorithms: from Signal Processing to Computer Vision

Recognition of Isolated Fingerspelling Gestures Using Depth Edges

Appearance-Based Real-Time Understanding of Gestures Using Projected Euler Angles

Flocks of Features for Tracking Articulated Objects

Static Hand Posture Recognition Based on Okapi-Chamfer Matching

Visual Modeling of Dynamic Gestures Using 3D Appearance and Motion Features

Head and Facial Animation Tracking Using Appearance-Adaptive Models and Particle Filters

A Real-Time Vision Interface Based on Gaze Detection – Eyekeys

Map Building From Human-Computer Interactions

Real-Time Inference of Complex Mental States from Facial Expressions and Head Gestures

Epipolar Constrained User Pushbutton Selection in Projected Interfaces

Vision-Based HCI Applications

The Office of the Past

MPEG-4 Face and Body Animation Coding Applied to HCI

Multimodal Human-Computer Interaction

Real-Time Vision for Human-Computer Interaction is an invaluable reference for HCI researchers in both academia and industry, and a useful supplement for advanced-level courses in HCI and Computer Vision.