A survey of 2D and 3D imaging used in hand gesture recognition for human-computer interaction (HCI)

Interaction of human body movements through any machines or computing device is a man-computer interaction (HCI). Human hand movements or gestures are the best ways of interacting with any machine, which allows the user to communicate and control any remotely placed device. This includes control of any home appliance, to control a robot, track a player or its body position, control movement and orientation of games and also control any man-machine interaction. With the rapid development in a 3D application and virtual environment, there is a need of devices which interact between the human and the computer system. This paper presents the study of the techniques applied for recognizing gesture in real time application. It also highlights on various techniques and the conditions under which the methodologies are employed. Further, the methodologies in terms of rate of recognition and limitations are explored. Finally we highlight the challenges in real-time gesture recognition.