Gestural Communication With Accelerometer-Based Input Devices and Tactile Displays

In this work, we introduce a communication system for common military hand and arm gestures which does not require a visual connection between the transmitter and receivers. Specifically, we present a computer mediated gesture recognition system that employs a wireless, accelerometer-based input device for collecting and classifying one- and two-hand and arm gestures. This system delivers message output through an audible channel and through a tactile display. The tactile display emulates the hand and arm signal's spatial qualities through a sequence of vibrations delivered via an elastic belt worn around the soldier's waist. Initial results show promise for this novel way to communicate with multimodal messages to augment visual messaging in challenging and stressful environments where visual messaging may not always be possible. See also ADM002187. Proceedings of the Army Science Conference (26th) Held in Orlando, Florida on 1-4 December 2008, The original document contains color images. Sponsored in part by Army Research Laboratory.