Gesture-based Control System for a Robot Arm

K. Lu

Nowadays, robot arms are being used extensively to execute many precise or dangerous tasks and they are usually controlled by a joystick. However, the traditional control method is complicated and inefficient. This thesis addresses this problem by proposing a new control method for robot arms using hand gestures recognition. The aim is to reduce the difficulty of controlling a robot arm as well as save the learning time for robot arm operators. In this thesis, an RGB-D sensor will be used for acquiring images and obtaining depth information. Using an algorithm of detecting fingertips and palm center, the trajectory of hand movement is then extracted. After the calculations of inverse kinematics, the end-effector of the robot arm follows the same trajectory. Besides, the gripper of the robot arm is controlled by the distance between the fingertips of index finger and thumb. The system performance will be evaluated using the robot arm of GETjag in terms of accuracy and efficiency.