Detecting, representing, and interpreting three-space input: gestural continuum subsuming freespace, proximal, and surface-contact modes

Abstract

Systems and methods for detecting, representing, and interpreting three-space input are described. Embodiments of the system, in the context of an SOE, process low-level data from a plurality of sources of spatial tracking data and analyze these semantically uncorrelated spatiotemporal data and generate high-level gestural events according to dynamically configurable implicit and explicit gesture descriptions. The events produced are suitable for consumption by interactive systems, and the embodiments provide one or more mechanisms for controlling and effecting event distribution to these consumers. The embodiments further provide to the consumers of its events a facility for transforming gestural events among arbitrary spatial and semantic frames of reference.

1 . A system comprising:
 a data funnel coupled to a processor, wherein the data funnel collates input data from a plurality of sources, wherein the input data is semantically uncorrelated three-space data of an instantaneous spatial and geometric state of an object in a frame of reference of the object, wherein the plurality of sources comprise disparate sources, wherein the data funnel conforms the input data into a stream of spatiotemporal data, wherein the spatiotemporal data of the stream is uniformly represented;   a gesture engine coupled to the data funnel, wherein the gesture engine generates gestural events from the spatiotemporal data using a plurality of gesture descriptions, wherein the gesture engine represents the gestural events in a protoevent comprising a data format that is application-neutral and fully articulated; and   a distributor coupled to the gesture engine, wherein the distributor provides access to the gestural events by at least one event consumer via corresponding protoevents in a spatial-semantic frame of reference of the at least one event consumer.   
     
     
         2 - 59 . (canceled) 
     
     
         60 . A system comprising:
 a data funnel coupled to a processor, wherein the data funnel collates input data from a plurality of sources and conforms the input data into a spatiotemporal data stream, wherein the input data is absolute three-space location data of an instantaneous state of a body at a point in time and space;   a gesture engine coupled to the data funnel, wherein the gesture engine generates gestural events from the spatiotemporal data stream using a plurality of gesture descriptions, wherein the gesture engine represents each gestural event in a protoevent comprising a data format that is application-neutral; and   a distributor coupled to the gesture engine, wherein the distributor provides access to the gestural events through access by a plurality of event consumers to a plurality of protoevents, wherein the access to the gestural events is in a spatial-semantic frame of reference of the plurality of event consumers.