This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on Gesture-Based Human-Computer Interaction and Simulation, GW 2007, held in Lisbon, Portugal, in May 2007. The 31 revised papers presented were carefully selected from 53 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on analysis and synthesis of gesture; theoretical aspects of gestural communication and interaction; vision-based gesture recognition; sign language processing; gesturing with tangible interfaces and in virtual and augmented reality; gesture for music and performing arts; gesture for therapy and rehabilitation; and gesture in Mobile computing and usability studies.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Gesture in Human-Computer Interaction and Simulation, GW 2005, held in May 2005. The 22 revised long papers and 14 revised short papers presented together with 2 invited lectures were carefully selected from numerous submissions during two rounds of reviewing and improvement. The papers are organized in topical sections on human perception and production of gesture, sign language representation, sign language recognition, vision-based gesture recognition, gesture analysis, gesture synthesis, gesture and music, and gesture interaction in multimodal systems.

Research on the multifaceted aspects of modeling, analysis, and synthesis of - man gesture is receiving growing interest from both the academic and industrial communities. On one hand, recent scienti?c developments on cognition, on - fect/emotion, on multimodal interfaces, and on multimedia have opened new perspectives on the integration of more sophisticated models of gesture in c- putersystems.Ontheotherhand,theconsolidationofnewtechnologiesenabling “disappearing” computers and (multimodal) interfaces to be integrated into the natural environments of users are making it realistic to consider tackling the complex meaning and subtleties of human gesture in multimedia systems, - abling a deeper, user-centered, enhanced physical participation and experience in the human-machine interaction process. The research programs supported by the European Commission and s- eral national institutions and governments individuated in recent years strategic ?elds strictly concerned with gesture research. For example, the DG Infor- tion Society of the European Commission (www.cordis.lu/ist) supports several initiatives, such as the “Disappearing Computer” and “Presence” EU-IST FET (Future and Emerging Technologies), the IST program “Interfaces & Enhanced Audio-Visual Services” (see for example the project MEGA, Multisensory - pressive Gesture Applications, www.megaproject.org), and the IST strategic - jective “Multimodal Interfaces.” Several EC projects and other funded research are represented in the chapters of this book. Awiderangeofapplicationscanbene?tfromadvancesinresearchongesture, from consolidated areas such as surveillance to new or emerging ?elds such as therapy and rehabilitation, home consumer goods, entertainment, and aud- visual, cultural and artistic applications, just to mention only a few of them.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 6th International Workshop on Gesture in Human-Computer Interaction and Simulation, GW 2005, held in May 2005. The 22 revised long papers and 14 revised short papers presented together with 2 invited lectures were carefully selected from numerous submissions during two rounds of reviewing and improvement. The papers are organized in topical sections on human perception and production of gesture, sign language representation, sign language recognition, vision-based gesture recognition, gesture analysis, gesture synthesis, gesture and music, and gesture interaction in multimodal systems.

Human computer interaction (HCI) plays a vital role in bridging the 'Digital Divide', bringing people closer to consumer electronics control in the 'lounge'. Keyboards and mouse or remotes do alienate old and new generations alike from control interfaces. Hand Gesture Recognition systems bring hope of connecting people with machines in a natural way. This will lead to consumers being able to use their hands naturally to communicate with any electronic equipment in their 'lounge.' This monograph will include the state of the art hand gesture recognition approaches and how they evolved from their inception. The author would also detail his research in this area for the past 8 years and how the future might turn out to be using HCI. This monograph will serve as a valuable guide for researchers (who would endeavour into) in the world of HCI.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the International Gesture Workshop, GW'99, held in Gif-sur-Yvette, France, in March 1999. The 16 revised long papers and seven revised short papers were carefully reviewed for inclusion in the book. Also included are four invited papers and the transcription of a round table discussion. The papers are organized in sections on human perception and production of gesture, localization and segmentation, recognition, sign language, gesture synthesis and animation, and multimodality.

This book constitutes revised selected papers from the 9th International Gesture Workshop, GW 2011, held in Athens, Greece, in May 2011. The 24 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 35 submissions. They are ordered in five sections named: human computer interaction; cognitive processes; notation systems and animation; gestures and signs: linguistic analysis and tools; and gestures and speech.

The International Gesture Workshops (GW) are interdisciplinary events for those researching gesture-based communication across the disciplines. The focus of these events is a shared interest in understanding gestures and sign language in their many facets, and using them for advancing human–machine interaction. Since 1996, International Gesture Workshops have been held roughly every second year, with fully reviewed proceedings published by Springer. The International Gesture Workshop GW 2009 was hosted by Bielefeld University’s Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF – Zentrum für interdisziplinäre Forschung) during February 25–27, 2009. Like its predecessors, GW 2009 aimed to provide a platform for participants to share, discuss, and criticize recent and novel research with a multidisciplinary audience. More than 70 computer scientists, linguistics, psychologists, neuroscientists as well as dance and music scientists from 16 countries met to present and exchange their newest results under the umbrella theme “Gesture in Embodied Communication and Human–Computer Interaction. ” Consistent with the steady growth of research activity in this area, a large number of high-quality submissions were received, which made GW 2009 an exciting and important event for anyone interested in gesture-related technological research relevant to human–computer interaction. In line with the practice of previous gesture workshops, presenters were invited to submit theirs papers for publication in a subsequent peer-reviewed publication of high quality. The present book is the outcome of this effort. Representing the research work from eight countries, it contains a selection of 28 thoroughly reviewed articles.

This book covers state of the art techniques for health personnel training using natural interfaces, immersive systems and serious games paradigms. Opening with a comprehensive introduction to the state of immersive visualisation techniques of interaction and simulation used in the industry and training research, the authors then focus on computer vision techniques used to develop realtime training systems effectively, providing recognition of actions and re-identification of persons. Principles of serious gaming applied to immersive natural interfaces are also addressed. The book culminates with the presentation of two prototypes of immersive systems for natural interaction, that the authors have developed and tested for the training of medical personnel. These prototypes use the principles and the technologies described in the first part of the book. Natural Interaction in Medical Training offers a unique point of view from medical professionals and computer engineers.