FROG stands for FROG Recognizer Of Gestures. It is the capstone project for the Class of 2010 Computer Science Department at Texas Christian University. The project involves the development of a platform independent, accelerometer-based gesture recognition system.
Project Overview
In computer science, gesture recognition serves as a way to improve interaction between computers and humans. Accelerometers, components that detect change in acceleration, are becoming more and more ubiquitous as mobile phones, game controllers, and other handheld devices incorporate them into their control scheme. The Nintendo Wiimote and Apple iPhone have sparked many projects aimed at finding creative ways to utilize these accelerometers, not the least of which is gesture recognition.
The goal of the FROG project is the production of a gesture training and recognition system. The software produced will be a generic platform intended for use with device-specific plug-ins that will allow gesture recognition with a wide variety of devices.
Background
Gesture recognition in computer science refers to the identification of hand gestures or facial expression through the use of mathematical algorithms. Gesture recognition can be seen as a bridge between machines and humans, offering a richer interface than traditional input methods such as text interfaces or a GUI.
FROG is primarily concerned with gesture recognition through identifying arm motions using 3D accelerometers on mobile devices. Initial references for FROG were the wiigee gesture recognition project and the LiveMove project from AiLive.
The Sun SPOT is the device chosen for FROG as it contains a three-axis accelerometer and IEEE 802.15.4 radio, both programmable in Java.
Project Scope and Objectives
- Creation of an independent gesture recognition framework intended for use in motion-based recognition research.
- The FROG project shall consist of a Hidden Markov Model-based training and recognition framework
- The system will include an intuitive and research-oriented GUI.
- The framework will be built in a way that allows additional plug-ins to be created for new devices.
- FROG will include one plug-in at launch, offering support for Sun SPOTs.
