Determining the orientation of a person's hand by using the photometric stereo method

Determining the posture of a person's hand is a task of great importance to gestural interfaces based on image processing techniques. In this paper, the authors propose to accomplish this task by using color images with the photometric stereo method, calculating the orientation of a small marker attached to the back of a person's hand. The vectors giving the orientation of the surface of the marker can then be used as inputs to an interface. They show the efficiency of using color images to improve the conventional photometric stereo method by performing simulations on a sphere. They then give an example of implementation of a simple user interface using their technique with a simulated marker. All the results showed good prospects for further development.