Terminal, for gesture recognition and operation command determination, vehicle having the same and method for controlling the same

A terminal comprising:

• an input device provided in a pad;
• at least one sensor installed adjacent to the pad, and configured to detect an object;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• receive one or more signals of detection of the object from the at least one sensor;
• determine whether the object makes contact with the pad,
• identify one or more positions of the object that is near to the pad and is not in contact with the pad based on the one or more signals,
• recognize a gesture of the object by tracking the one or more positions of the object starting from a point of time at which the object having been in contact with the pad is near to the pad and is not in contact with the pad, until a point of time at which the object makes contact with the pad again,
• determine an operation command corresponding to the recognized gesture,
• generate a control signal corresponding to the determined operation command, and
• an output device provided in a display or a speaker and configured to:
• receive the control signal transferred from the controller, and
• perform an operation based on the determined operation command,
• wherein, when recognizing the gesture of the object, the controller identifies a change in moving direction of the object and a change in distance between the pad and the object based on the one or more positions of the tracked object in space of a certain range, and recognizes the gesture of the object corresponding to the identified change in moving direction of the object and the identified change in distance between the pad and the object,
• wherein the object includes fingers of a hand, and
• wherein, when a distance between the pad and the hand is maintained during a predetermined period of time from when the object is separated from a surface of the pad, the controller determines a first distance between an end portion of each of the fingers and the pad and a second distance between a joint of each of the fingers and the pad based on the one or more signals, obtains a degree of bending of each of the fingers based on the first distance and the second distance, and recognizes a gesture corresponding to a shape of the hand based on the degree of bending of each of the fingers.

A control method of a terminal comprising:

• detecting, by at least one sensor, an object;
• determining, by a controller, whether the object makes contact with an input device provided in a pad based on one or more signals of detection of the object from the at least one sensor;
• determining, by the controller, whether the object is not in contact with the pad based on the one or more signals after determining that the object made contact with the pad;
• detecting, by the at least one sensor, one or more positions of the object is near to the pad and is not in contact with the pad based on the one or more signals;
• recognizing, by the controller, a gesture of the object by tracking the one or more positions of the object starting from a point of time at which the object having been in contact with the pad is near to the pad and is not in contact with the pad, until a point of time at which the object is not detected by the at least one sensor;
• determining, by the controller, an operation command corresponding to the recognized gesture;
• generating, by the controller, a control signal corresponding to the determined operation command;
• and
• receiving, by an output device provided in a display or a speaker, the control signal transferred from the controller and performing an operation based on the determined operation command,
• wherein, when recognizing the gesture of the object, the controller identifies a change in moving direction of the object and a change in distance between the pad and the object based on the one or more positions of the tracked object in space of a certain range, and recognizes the gesture of the object corresponding to the identified change in moving direction of the object and the identified change in distance between the pad and the object,
• wherein the object includes fingers of a hand, and
• wherein the control method further comprises:
• determining whether a distance between a surface of the pad and the hand is maintained during a predetermined period of time from a time point at which the hand is separated from the surface of the pad;
• determining a first distance between an end portion of each of the fingers and the pad and a second distance between a joint of each of the fingers and the pad based on the one or more signals;
• obtaining a degree of bending of each of the fingers based on the first distance and the second distance;
• and
• recognizing a gesture corresponding to a shape of the hand based on the degree of bending of each of the fingers.

A vehicle including a terminal for performing a navigation function, an audio function, and a video function, the terminal comprising:

• an input device provided in a pad;
• at least one sensor installed adjacent to the pad, and configured to detect an object;
• a controller configured to:
• receive one or more signals of detection of the object from the at least one sensor,
• determine whether the object makes contact with the pad, and identify one or more positions of the object that is near to the pad and is not in contact with the pad based on the one or more signals,
• recognize a gesture of the object by tracking the one or more positions of the object starting from a point of time at which the object having been in contact with the pad is near to the pad and is not in contact with the pad, until a point of time at which the object is not detected by the at least one sensor,
• determine an operation command corresponding to the recognized gesture, and
• generate a control signal corresponding to the determined operation command, and
• an output device provided in a display or a speaker and configured to:
• receive the control signal transferred from the controller, and
• perform an operation based on the determined operation command,
• wherein, when recognizing the gesture of the object, the controller identifies a change in moving direction of the object and a change in distance between the pad and the object based on the one or more positions of the tracked object in space of a certain range, and recognizes the gesture of the object corresponding to the identified change in moving direction of the object and the identified change in distance between the pad and the object,
• wherein the object includes fingers of a hand, and
• wherein, when a distance between a surface of the pad and the hand is maintained during a predetermined period of time, the controller determines a first distance between an end portion of each of the fingers and the pad and a second distance between a joint of each of the fingers and the pad based on the one or more signals, obtains a degree of bending of each of the fingers based on the first distance and the second distance, and recognizes a gesture corresponding to a shape of the hand based on the degree of bending of each of the fingers.