This paper summarizes the results of an empirical study concerning the use of hand motions as one of the input mechanisms of a multi-modal interface of computer aided conceptual design systems for initial shape design of consumer durables. A hand motion language (HML) has been developed and used in designed experiments to describe simple, compound and hybrid shapes. The subjects were asked to reconstruct the presented shapes by sketching on paper. Comprehension of the hand motion language has been evaluated in terms of fidelity and efficiency. The results clearly indicate the potentials of a HML in shape conceptualization. In addition, the experiments revealed several new issues related to the application of the hand motion language in a multi-modal interface.

1.
Rusa´k, Z., 2003, “Vague Discrete Interval Modeling in Shape Conceptualization,” Ph.D. Thesis, Delft University of Technology, Delft, pp. 1–156.
2.
Pavlovic
,
V.
,
Sharma
,
R.
, and
Huang
,
T.
,
1997
, “
Visual Interpretation of Hand Gestures for Human-Computer Interaction: A Review
,”
IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. Mach. Intell.
,
19
(
7
), pp.
677
695
.
3.
Aggarwal
,
J. K.
, and
Cai
,
Q.
,
1999
, “
Human Motion Analysis: A Review
,”
Comput. Vis. Image Underst.
,
73
(
3
), pp.
428
440
.
4.
Watson, R., 1993, “A Survey of Gesture Recognition Techniques,” Technical Report, TCD-CS-93-11, Trinity College, Dublin, pp. 1–23.
5.
Hummels, C., 2000, “Gestural Design Tools: Prototypes, Experiments and Scenarios,” Ph.D. Thesis, Delft University of Technology, Delft, pp. 1–235.
6.
Wu, Y., and Huang, T. S., 1999, “Capturing Articulated Human Hand Motion: A Divide-and-Conquer Approach,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Computer Vision, pp. 606–611.
7.
Huang, T. S., 1990, “Modeling Analysis, and Visualization of Non-rigid Object Motion,” Proceedings of 10th ICPR, pp. 361–364.
8.
Heap, A. J., and Hogg, D., 1996, “3D Deformable Hand Models, Progress in Gestural Interaction,” Proceedings of Gesture Workshop ’96, University of York, UK, pp. 131–139.
9.
Ahmad, S., 1995, “A Usable Real-time 3D Hand Tracker,” Proceedings of 28th Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers, IEEE Computer Society Press, pp. 1257–1261.
10.
La Viola, J. J., 1999, “A Survey of Hand Posture and Gesture Recognition Techniques and Technologies,” Research Report, Brown University, Department of Computer Science, CS-99-11, pp. 1–80.
11.
Horva´th
,
I.
, and
Rusa´k
,
Z.
,
2001
, “
Collaborative Shape Conceptualization in Virtual Design Environments
,”
Commun. ACM
,
44
(
12
), pp.
59
63
.
12.
Horva´th, I., Tromp, N., and Daalhuizen, J., 2003, “Comprehending a Hand Motion Language in Shape Conceptualization,” Proceedings of ASME 2003 Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference-DETC’03, Chicago, IL, CD-ROM: DETC2003/CIE-48286.
13.
Lee
,
J.
, and
Kunii
,
T. L.
,
1995
, “
Model-Based Analysis of Hand Posture
,”
IEEE Comput. Graphics Appl.
,
15
(
5
), pp.
77
86
.
You do not currently have access to this content.