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Man winks and the computer thinks

February 26, 2004

To some extent, computers can speak and hear. But seeing is another matter, for the instantaneous interpretation of film sequences requires the processing of huge volumes of data. Visitors to CeBIT can take part in a computer game as a virtual controller.

For computer fans and cineastes, "Tron" counts as the forefather of computer-animated films. Against his will, computer programmer Flynn is placed in a virtual world controlled by the evil Master Control Program. As with most scripts, in the end our hero defeats the binary rogue. Since its release in 1982, the film has left a lasting impression on concepts of virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

Every modern computer game bears witness to the fact that the digital world has now arrived in each and every home. Players are not only mentally absorbed in the game, but can also send an electronic representative (avatar) into battle. One more technological leap and input devices such as the joystick, game console, mouse or keyboard will become superfluous, replaced by body movements and gestures. The catch however is that the computer must be able to recognize motion. When a camera records the player's movements, the computer must first be able to distinguish them against a possibly turbulent background scenery.

Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS will presenting such a system in Hall 11 at CeBIT's Future Parc (March 18-24). "We're not only interested in attracting computer game companies to our exhibit," emphasizes Dr. Christian Küblbeck, project manager for computer vision. "This non-contact, user-friendly technology can also be used to control robots or to select menu items from service kiosks and virtual shop windows."

The research team will be demonstrating a gesture-controlled interactive game at CeBIT, similar to "The Amazing Labyrinth" board game from Ravensburger. Each player has to get from one end of a labyrinth to the other, by astutely repositioning parts of the jigsaw puzzle that block the way. In the electronic version, the player cannot physically move the pieces; instead using hand movements to control the action of the game, standing in front of the computer monitor. The computer recognizes the hand, analyzes its motion, and places the piece on the desired spot on the board. The computer also recognizes the player's face: Those who succeed in finding a passage through the labyrinth are crowned as king or queen of the game.

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

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