A method for image-based shadow interaction with virtual objects

A lot of researchers have been investigating interactive portable projection systems such as a mini-projector. In addition, in exhibition halls and museums, there is a trend toward using interactive projection systems to make viewing more exciting and impressive. They can also be applied in the field of art, for example, in creating shadow plays. The key idea of the interactive portable projection systems is to recognize the user׳s gesture in real-time. In this paper, a vision-based shadow gesture recognition method is proposed for interactive projection systems. The gesture recognition method is based on the screen image obtained by a single web camera. The method separates only the shadow area by combining the binary image with an input image using a learning algorithm that isolates the background from the input image. The region of interest is recognized with labeling the shadow of separated regions, and then hand shadows are isolated using the defect, convex hull, and moment of each region. To distinguish hand gestures, Hu׳s invariant moment method is used. An optical flow algorithm is used for tracking the fingertip. Using this method, a few interactive applications are developed, which are presented in this paper.