Eye Toy (2002)

• Aimed to make PlayStation 2 console more accessible by using natural user interfaces driven by computer vision
• Uses webcam technology from Omnivision, manufactured by Logitech, with gesture recognition from GestureTek
• Specifications & Features:

                o   320 x 240 resolution

                o   Manual focus control

                o   60 frames per second throughput

                o   Built-in rudimentary microphone

                o   Supported 3D head modeling (Cameo) for digital representations of player avatars

• Licensed from Digimask

• Shortcomings:

                o   Low resolution due to processing limitations of the time

                o   Poor performance in low light conditions

                o   Limited CV requiring a mostly neutral background

Intel Me2Cam (~1999)

• created by Intel, launched by Mattel
• one of the first commercially available PC products for computer vision and gestural interaction
• physical motions control software activities using foreground-background segmentation (background removed from source stream, replaced by virtual world)
• targetted for children aged 4-8
• uses low resolution (120/180 pixels) and no compression to maintain high frame rate necessary for constant movement tracking
• Limitations:

                o  Left/Right movements very limited

                o  fixed distance from camera

                o  only upper torso available for gameplay

                o  player must only face forward

                o  motion control cannot be used as a keyboard/mouse replacement

                o  very low resolution

                o  can only track one user at a time

• Application design principles:

• no longer supported by Intel, but many design principles remain the same

Minority Report (2002)

• Based on real-life technologies (too advanced for technology at the time)
• MIT Media Lab scientific advisers hired by Stephen Spielberg
• John UnderKoffler – main scientific advisor – went on to create G-Speak

                o   Operation system with gestural interface similar to one used in Minority Report

• G-Speak Interfaced based largely on gestures that:

                o   Mimic what you’re trying to do

                o   1 to 1 correspondence between person’s movement and what’s happening in the interface

Videoplace (mid-70s)

• artificial reality laboratory at the University of Connecticut established by Myron Kreuger
• aimed to create artificial reality that surrounds users, responds to movements and actions without goggles/gloves
• used projectors, video cameras, special purpose hardware, and onscreen silhouettes of users
• users in separate labs could interact using data transferred between rooms
• now on display at the State Museum of Natural History at the University of Connecticut

GestureTek ScreenXtreme

• GestureTek has been one of the world leaders in camera enabled video gesture control for 25 yrs
• Co-founded by Vincent John Vincent - one of the earliest pioneers in gesture tracking in virtual reality
• full body natural gesture-recognition and body tracking software used for immersive gaming experience
• Earlier version, the Gesture Exteme, was used for a wide variety of public installations
• Evolved into the Interactive Rehabilitative Exercise System (IREX) used in 500 locations worldwide for rehabilitative exercise
• technology has been licensed to many 3rd parties (Sony EyeToy/Move, Microsoft XBox camera & Kinect, Hasbro ION Educational Gaming Console

Mattel/Nintendo Power Glove (~1989)

• Allowed spatial tracking of hand wearing powerglove
• tracked flexing of thumb, index, middle, and ring finger (pinky left out, as it usually follows ring finger) as well as roll of the hand
• sensors based on optical fibers that transmit less light when bent
• uses 2 transmitter ultrasonic speakers on the glove and three ultrasonic microphone receivers on the tv monitor to transmit spatial information
• x,y,z location of speakers sent, which allow determination of yaw and roll of hand
• based on the VPL Dataglove, though the Power Glove stores all finger flex information in 1 byte for all 4 fingers while the Dataglove dedicates 1 byte for each finger
• Officially licensed by Nintendo, but designed by team of Grant Goddard and Sam Davis for Abrams Gentile Entertainment
• Largely abandoned due to difficult, imprecise controls

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