Camera-based man-machine interface for computer application control
Gerald Morrison · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2004
Human computer interaction is an active area of research that focuses on how humans can better work with machines. In order for this to happen, there must be an enabling technology that creates a natural interface between man and machine. In this paper an enabling technology in the form of a camera based man-machine interface is described. This system uses smart cameras to analyze a scene directly in front of a computer display. The analysis determines where a user has touched the display and then treats that information is a mouse click thereby allowing the computer to be controlled. There are significant technological problems that have been overcome in order to make the system robust enough for commercialization. System architecture and operation is described and some interesting advantages of using machine vision are presented. The interface is also shown to be compatible with very large computer displays thus creating a very natural interface with familiar usage paradigms.