This paper proposes a self-taught classifier of gateways for hybrid SLAM. Gateways are detected and recognized by the self-taught classifier, which is a SVM classifier and self-taught in that its training samples are produced and labeled without user's intervention. Since the detection of gateways at the topological boundaries of an acquired metric map reduces computational complexity in partitioning the metric map into sub-maps as compared with previous hybrid SLAM approaches using spectral clustering methods, from O(2n) to O(n), where n is the number of sub-maps. This makes possible real time hybrid SLAM even for large-scale metric maps. We have confirmed that the self-taught classifier provides satisfactory consistency and computationally efficiency in hybrid SLAM through different experiments.

We present a method for recognition of two-hand gestures. Two-hand gestures include fine-grain descriptions of hands under a complicated background, and have complex dynamic behaviors. Hence, assuming that two-hand gestures are an interacting process of two hands whose shapes and motions are described by switching linear dynamics, we propose a coupled switching linear dynamic model to capture interactions between both hands. The parameters of the model are learned via EM algorithm using approximate computations. Recognition is performed by selection of the model with maximum likelihood out of a few learned models during tracking. We confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed model in tracking and recognition of two-hand gestures through some experiments.

We present a method to track and recognize shape-changing hand gestures simultaneously. The switching linear model using active contour model well corresponds to temporal shapes and motions of hands. However, inference in the switching linear model is computationally intractable, and therefore the learning process cannot be performed via the exact EM (Expectation Maximization) algorithm. Thus, we present an approximate EM algorithm using a collapsing method in which some Gaussians are merged into a single Gaussian. Tracking is performed through the forward algorithm based on Kalman filtering and the collapsing method. We also present a regularized smoothing, which plays a role of reducing jump changes between the training sequences of shape vectors representing complex-variable hand shapes. The recognition process is performed by the selection of a model with the maximum likelihood from some trained models while tracking is being performed. Experiments for several shape-changing hand gestures are demonstrated.