In this paper, the authors propose a method to detect the laser dot in an interactive system using laser pointers. The method is designed for presenters who need to interact with the computer during the presentation by using the laser pointer. The detection technique is developed by using a camera to capture the presentation screen and processing every frames transferred to the computer. | Journal of Science and Technology Volume 48, Issue 4, 2010 pp. 73-81 WEBCAM-BASED LASER DOT DETECTION TECHNIQUE IN COMPUTER REMOTE CONTROL HOANG-AN LE, MINH-THONG DOAN, MINH-TRIET TRAN ABSTRACT In this paper, the authors propose a method to detect the laser dot in an interactive system using laser pointers. The method is designed for presenters who need to interact with the computer during the presentation by using the laser pointer. The detection technique is developed by using a camera to capture the presentation screen and processing every frames transferred to the computer. This paper focuses on the detection and tracking of laser dots, based on their characteristics to distinguish a laser dot from other areas on the captured frames. Experimental results showed that the proposed method could reduce the rate of misdetection by light noises of a factor of 10 and achieve an average accuracy of 82% of detection in normal presentation environments. The results point out that the better way to describe the laser dots’ features based on visual concept is to use the HSI color space instead of the normal RGB space. Keywords. laser pointer; laser dot/spot; laser pointer interaction; control; mouse; computer screen/display. 1. INTRODUCTION Laser pointer is a popular device in video-projection-based conferences and classes, where presenters may move freely around the stage without being constrained by the reach to the computer. A laser pointer helps a presenter in interacting with a projection screen such as highlighting or pointing at an object on the screen despite the place of the presenter. A regular computer equipped with a normal keyboard and mouse usually limits presenters’ mobility while other remoting devices such as wireless mice, or slideshow controllers are not popular because of the high cost, the limitation in manipulation (wireless mice require horizontal surfaces to be used) or limitation in use (slideshow controller is dedicated for .
