Identifying hand gestures based on muscle movement in the arm

EMG wearable gesture-sensing device.

Embodiments described herein include an arm band that captures sensor data used to identify hand gestures. When worn on the arm, the arm band permits a computing device to identify different gestures made by the hand. In one embodiment, the band measures a change in position of the tendons that control the positions of the fingers on the hand which can then be correlated to a particular hand gesture. For example, the thickness of the user's arm increases in a direction perpendicular to the palm of the hand when the fingers are extended relative to the thickness of the arm when the fingers are curled into the palm of the hand. By detecting this change in thickness, the computing device can distinguish between different gestures.

BACKGROUND(1) Field of the Invention(2) Embodiments presented in this disclosure generally relate to identifying hand gestures using signals generated by a band worn on an arm of a user.(3) Description of the Related Art(4) Detecting hand gestures made by a user can be used in a variety of applications such as gaming, interacting with a visual display, providing instructions to a computing device, and the like. Some gesture recognition systems detect hand gestures by capturing video images of the hand and then correlating these images to a particular gesture. However, these systems require expensive devices such as cameras that are typically mounted external to the user—i.e., are not carried by the user. Other gesture recognition systems may use sensors mounted on the hand such as rings worn on the fingers. However, these systems encumber the user and may limit the range of motion of the hand.SUMMARY(5) One embodiment described herein is an arm band that includes a first portion, a second portion, a pivoting element, and a sensor. The pivoting element is coupled to respective first ends of the first and second portions and the pivoting element permits respective second ends of the first and second portions opposite of the first ends to separate relative to each other. The sensor is configured to, when the arm band is worn on the arm, generate an output signal indicative of a thickness of the arm in a direction substantially perpendicular to a palm of a hand.(6) Another embodi