Counting fingers in real time: A webcam-based human-computer interface game applications

Finger Counter is a simple and universal human-computer interface. Using a webcam, it interprets specific hand gestures as input to a computer system in real time. Finger Counter employs two novel computer-vision techniques: (1) a background-differencing method adaptive to changing lighting conditions and camera movement and (2) a new procedure to analyze hand contours. The Finger Counter interface runs under Linux with multiple threads of execution. Finger Counter applications include a game designed to teach children to count with their fingers and a program that allows you to “finger paint ” on a computer screen. Test subjects compared the familiar keyboard with Finger Counter under difficult lighting and background conditions and found Finger Counter a viable substitute.