On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe • Hacker News Board

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#41

Post by roywiggins » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 6:02 AM UTC

40four wrote: post #36

userbinator wrote: post #23

Given the company behind it, I can't get out of my head the thought that this will find a lot of other applications... Please give a thumbs-up to acknowledge your engagement with this ad Sorry, the middle finger is not acceptable. Please give a thumbs-up.

Yeah, I hate to be cynical, but I'm not buying the stated use cases as the main motivator here for Google. It's cool they are releasing it. Interested to see what other folks come up with. I wonder if this could be used to identity people based on hand movements alone? Like some sort of movement 'finger print' or something. I've got to imagine we all have somewhat different paterns of moving our hands. Is it possible…

Hand identification has been used to convict at least one person:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/stories-45190746/how-a-paedoph...

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#42

Post by bigiain » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 6:30 AM UTC

melling wrote: post #32

Havoc wrote: post #4

Remember that HN post the other day about someone going on a massive mission on voice recog because they can't use a mouse due to pain? Stuff like this makes me hopeful even if it seems like a gimmick when viewed in isolation.

A combination voice recognition + gesture recognition + eye tracking would make mobile computers better productivity tools.

> A combination voice recognition + gesture recognition + eye tracking would make

... retail surveillance much more effective and privacy eroding...

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#43

Post by TylerE » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 6:39 AM UTC

Mathnerd314 wrote: post #29

zawerf wrote: post #11

The underlying project MediaPipe looks pretty cool: https://github.com/google/mediapipe/blob/master/mediapipe/do... I wonder why they didn't build it on top of one of the gazillion flow-based visual programming languages instead?

Probably because it uses TensorFlow (lite) and there aren't many (any?) VPLs supporting C++ integration. And also Google has NIH syndrome, it's hard to think of any outside projects they use besides the Linux software stack and LLVM.

Python? Git?

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#44

Post by jcelerier » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 6:54 AM UTC

Mathnerd314 wrote: post #29

zawerf wrote: post #11

The underlying project MediaPipe looks pretty cool: https://github.com/google/mediapipe/blob/master/mediapipe/do... I wonder why they didn't build it on top of one of the gazillion flow-based visual programming languages instead?

Probably because it uses TensorFlow (lite) and there aren't many (any?) VPLs supporting C++ integration. And also Google has NIH syndrome, it's hard to think of any outside projects they use besides the Linux software stack and LLVM.

> Probably because it uses TensorFlow (lite) and there aren't many (any?) VPLs supporting C++ integration.

which VPL do not support C++ ? all the major ones have externals / plug-ins / modules that can be written in C++ - Max/MSP, PureData, LabVIEW, vuo, BluePrints, vvvv...

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#45

Post by lawik » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:17 AM UTC

First skim of the title "what are they tracking now? Wow, very clear language on the tracking part of the business for googleblog.com link. Oh.. Hand tracking"

But this is very neat.

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#46

Post by kjar » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 7:59 AM UTC

bigiain wrote: post #42

melling wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A combination voice recognition + gesture recognition + eye tracking would make mobile computers better productivity tools.

> A combination voice recognition + gesture recognition + eye tracking would make ... retail surveillance much more effective and privacy eroding...

if they do it all on device and do not transmit out, then the privacy concern seems squelched. On retail tracking yeah it's messed, practically no one knows their movements are tracked on their phones - cell tower triangulation, GPS, then the kicker NFC. I love / hate tech. It's powerful stuff. [edit] - the cell tower triangulation is forever given the nature of the tech.

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#47

Post by rvdca » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 9:03 AM UTC

hirundo wrote: post #33

> We are excited to see what you can build with it! The killer app is typing. Qwerty would be nice for a transition, but someone please invent a gesture "keyboard" more optimal for a free floating hand. Because of the lack of feedback I imagine it couldn't be as good as an actual keyboard. But it could be brilliant as an away from keyboard keyboard.

I am wondering if we are not too pessimistic about feedback for that application : why not use physical chord-like movements to different actions (delete characters, words, sentences) or like making distinct handsigns assigned to more used phonemes and less used one to chords of several finger joins like index / thumb, etc. Would be weird at first but, as learning vim taught me, building a coherent grammar can definitely make a big difference.

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#48

Post by eitland » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 9:07 AM UTC

userbinator wrote: post #23

Given the company behind it, I can't get out of my head the thought that this will find a lot of other applications... Please give a thumbs-up to acknowledge your engagement with this ad Sorry, the middle finger is not acceptable. Please give a thumbs-up.

My thoughts exactly. Ten or 15 years ago I would think "cool, they are going to make something awesome with it".

Three years ago: "they'll shut it down when they get another exciting idea".

Today: "userbinator beat me to it only I am worried they will come up with something worse".

Sorry to all googlers here. I'm trying not picking on you individually but the company you work for has worked long and hard to erode mountains of trust and it is starting to pay off :-/

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#49

Post by jsilence » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 9:35 AM UTC

awinter-py wrote: post #34

pose detection is a mixed bag because it encourages always-watching devices (like how alexa is the killer app for always listening mics) That said, incredibly useful for interacting w/ technology in physical space. Could imagine this doing really well for handheld drone landings or hybrid human / robot factories.

Could be activated by Bluetooth based presence detection, leading to face recognition to verify it is the right user, and then activate gesture detection.

Re: On-Device, Real-Time Hand Tracking with MediaPipe

#50

Post by cromwellian » Sat, Aug 31, 2019, 9:36 AM UTC

eitland wrote: post #48

userbinator wrote: post #23

Given the company behind it, I can't get out of my head the thought that this will find a lot of other applications... Please give a thumbs-up to acknowledge your engagement with this ad Sorry, the middle finger is not acceptable. Please give a thumbs-up.

My thoughts exactly. Ten or 15 years ago I would think "cool, they are going to make something awesome with it". Three years ago: "they'll shut it down when they get another exciting idea". Today: "userbinator beat me to it only I am worried they will come up with something worse". Sorry to all googlers here. I'm trying not picking on you individually but the company you work for has worked long and hard to erode mou…

It’s an open source library, so you can’t “shut it down”, it’s a gift to the community and people can continue to use it if Google doesn’t.

Honestly these kinds of comments are getting silly and applied out of context, it’s almost like there needs to be. Godwin’s law for dredging up Reader’s cancellation or conspiracy theories about how finger tracking is going to be used for ad recommendation.