science

GestureTek

GestureTek is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand GestureTek rather than just read about it. In short: GestureTek is an American-based interactive technology company headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with offices in Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario and Asia. Founding Founded in 1986 by Canadians Vincent John Vincent and Francis MacDougall, this privately held company develops and licenses gesture recognition software based on computer vision techniques.

Key takeaways

GestureTek belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect GestureTek to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of GestureTek from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

GestureTek is an American-based interactive technology company headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with offices in Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario and Asia.

Founding Founded in 1986 by Canadians Vincent John Vincent and Francis MacDougall, this privately held company develops and licenses gesture recognition software based on computer vision techniques. The partners invented video gesture control in 1986 and received their base patent in 1996 for the GestPoint video gesture control system. GestPoint technology is a camera-enabled video tracking software system that translates hand and body movement into computer control. The system enables users to navigate and control interactive multi-media and menu-based content, engage in virtual reality game play, experience immersion in an augmented reality environment or interact with a consumer device (such a television, mobile phone or set top box) without using touch-based peripherals. Similar companies include gesture recognition specialist LM3LABS based in Tokyo, Japan.

Technology GestureTek's gesture interface applications include multi-touch and 3D camera tracking. GestureTek's multi-touch technology powers the multi-touch table in Melbourne's Eureka Tower. A GestureTek multi-touch table with object recognition is found at the New York City Visitors Center. Telefónica has a multi-touch window with technology from GestureTek. GestureTek's 3D tracking technology is used in a 3D television prototype from Hitachi and various digital signage and display solutions based on 3D interaction.

Patents GestureTek currently has 8 patents awarded, including: 5,534,917 (Video Gesture Control Motion Detection); 7,058,204 (Multiple Camera Control System, Point to Control Base Patent); 7,421,093 (Multiple Camera Tracking System for Interfacing With an Application); 7,227,526 (Stereo Camera Control, 3D-Vision Image Control System); 7,379,563 (Two-Handed Movement Tracker Tracking Bi-Manual Movements); 7,379,566 (Optical Flow-Based Tilt Sensor For Phone Tilt Control); 7,389,591 (Phone Tilt for Typing & Menus/Orientation-Sensitive Signal Output); 7,430,312 (Five Camera 3D Face Capture). GestureTek's software and patents have been licensed by Microsoft for the Xbox 360, Sony for the EyeToy, NTT DoCoMo for their mobile phones and Hasbro for the ION Educational Gaming System. In addition to software provision, GestureTek also fabricates interactive gesture control display systems with natural user interface for interactive advertising, games and presentations. In addition, GestureTek's natural user interface virtual reality system has been the subject of research by universities and hospitals for its application in both physical therapy and physical rehabilitation. In 2008, GestureTek received the Mobile Innovation Global Award from the GSMA for its software-based, gesture-controlled user interface for mobile games and applications. The technology is used by Java platform integration providers and mobile developers. Katamari Damacy is one example of a gesture control mobile game powered by GestureTek software.

Competitors Other companies in the industry of interactive projections for marketing and retail experiences include Po-motion Inc., Touchmagix and LM3LABS.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with GestureTek

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what GestureTek claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to GestureTek before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about GestureTek ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of GestureTek

In research: GestureTek appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses GestureTek in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: GestureTek is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Applications of artificial intelligence, Gesture recognition, Multimedia frameworks, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for GestureTek outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study GestureTek in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what GestureTek means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain GestureTek out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is GestureTek in simple terms?

GestureTek is an American-based interactive technology company headquartered in Silicon Valley, California, with offices in Toronto and Ottawa, Ontario and Asia. Founding Founded in 1986 by Canadians Vincent John Vincent and Francis MacDougall, this privately held company develops and licenses gest…

Why does GestureTek matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study GestureTek?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on GestureTek.