How to construct a language using hand gestures

Question

Hi all: i am developing a programme which is capable of recognizing several hand gestures.Now the requirement need a language using the hand gestures.So, how can i construct one ?

My current idea is using regular expression and Backus Naur Form to define the syntax,but i get stuck in the design.

PLUS :

1. the gestures is merely finger position although it can track when you move
2. the exact number of the gesture is 5
3. as for the nouns or verbs which the gestures referred to, currently i really have no idea how to assign them.
4. i am not permitted to post images of the gesture ,otherwise it will be more clear,but i can e-mail if someone wants to see.

Thanks for any ideas

Answer 1

If your gesture-recognition program can map hand-gestures to text, you can use BNF along with lex and yacc.

The design of your language is going to be constrained mostly by the vocabulary of hand gestures. Without knowing how many distinct gestures can be recognized, it is very difficult to give advice on language design. I almost hate to say so, but look at Whitespace for a language that uses very few symbols. A working FORTH system can also be implemented with a small set of symbols.

Answer 2

Five gestures total using finger positions? OK, I'll guess each gesture is one finger up and the rest down. A possible language would be:

• thumb up only: i need a ride
• index finger up only: one latte please
• middle finger up only: go away
• ring finger up only: please marry me
• pinkie up only: i need to scratch my belly button

Another possibility:

• gesture 1: turn left
• gesture 2: turn right
• gesture 3: forward
• gesture 4: backwards
• gesture 5: toggle start/stop

Another possibility: let each pair of gestures (25 combinations) represent letters A to Y (use X for Z) and spell everything in English.

Another possibility: let each gesture represent a digit in base 5, and code as many consecutive digits as you wish mapped to as many nouns/verbs you wish.

etc, etc.

Answer 3

Depending on how complicated the gestures can be, you may want to take a look at the gestures used in American Sign Language. While it can be very elaborate in some cases (for example, motion and facial expression can greatly change the meaning of the sign), it is also very elegant in how it handles complicated ideas and thoughts. While this won't solve your problem directly, it may give you some ideas. There are resources available online to see the various hand gestures, etc.