Automotive and industrial motion sensory device

Abstract

The technology disclosed relates to highly functional/highly accurate motion sensory control devices for use in automotive and industrial control systems capable of capturing and providing images to motion capture systems that detect gestures in a three dimensional (3D) sensory space.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A motion sensory control system, including:
 a controller coupled to imaging sensors and one or more illumination sources, the controller being configured to acquire imaging information of a scene comprising a body part of an occupant of a vehicle;   wherein the controller is further configured to interact with an augmented reality system providing a display within the vehicle, such that a graphical object representing the body part of the occupant is displayed by the display, such that the graphical object appears to be interacting with other objects displayed by display, and   wherein the controller is further configured to recognize gestures executed by the body part by comparing a recognized gesture to one or more gestures stored in a reference library of gesture primitives and to interpret the recognized gesture as a stored command, and   wherein the controller is further configured to interact with the augmented reality system to display an augmented reality presentation by the display showing a second graphical object associated with the stored command.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein
 the controller is further configured to acquire imaging information for control objects within view of the imaging sensors, and the imaging information for control objects is used to determine gesture information indicating a command to a machine under control.   
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the controller further provides:
 storage for the reference library of gesture primitives as electronic records in a database.   
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the acquiring of imaging information for control objects further includes:
 separating information received from pixels sensitive to IR light from information received from pixels sensitive to visible light;   processing image information from IR sensors to be used for gesture recognition; and   processing image information from RGB sensors to be provided as a video feed via a presentation interface.   
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the processing of image information from RGB sensors further includes:
 extracting features of a region of interest using RGB pixels that respectively capture red, green, and blue components of illumination in the scene.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the processing of image information from IR sensors further includes:
 extracting features of a region of interest using IR pixels that capture infrared components of illumination in the scene.   
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , further including:
 a port to receive information from a photodetector configured to sense changes in light intensity indicating presence or absence of objects within a region of space illuminated by the illumination sources.   
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to interact with the augmented reality system to present a presentation interface displaying an augmented reality presentation on the display, wherein the presentation interface is produced, in part, from images captured by the imaging sensors.   
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 8 , wherein the augmented reality presentation further includes a sequence of images of a scene with computer generated information. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
 determine destination information from at least one image of the sequence of images and information entered or used by an operator;   select an icon representing an advertisement relevant to the destination information; and   interact with the augmented reality system to display the icon representing the advertisement in the augmented reality presentation by the display.   
     
     
         11 . A method for sensing motion within a vehicle, comprising:
 illuminating, with illumination sources, a portion of a vehicle, the vehicle being provided with a controller coupled to imaging sensors;   acquiring imaging information of a scene comprising a body part of an occupant of the vehicle;   interacting with an augmented reality system providing a display within the vehicle, such that a graphical object representing the body part of the occupant is displayed by the display, such that the graphical object appears to be interacting with other objects displayed by display;   recognizing gestures executed by the body part by comparing a recognized gesture to one or more gestures stored in a reference library of gesture primitives and to interpret the recognized gesture as a stored command; and   interacting with the augmented reality system to display an augmented reality presentation by the display showing a second graphical object associated with the stored command.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 acquiring imaging information for control objects within view of the imaging sensors; and   using the imaging information for control objects to determine gesture information indicating a command to a machine under control.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 receiving information from a photodetector configured to sense changes in light intensity indicating presence or absence of objects within a region of space illuminated by the illumination sources.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 determining destination information from the imaging information and information entered or used by an operator;   selecting an icon representing an advertisement relevant to the destination information; and   interacting with the augmented reality system to display the icon representing the advertisement in the augmented reality presentation by the display.