Gestures

Abstract

Gestures are central to Kinect just as clicks are central to GUI platforms and taps are central to touch interfaces. Unlike the digital interaction idioms of the graphical user interface, gestures are peculiar in that they already exist in the real world. Without computers we would have no need for the mouse. Gestures, on the other hand, are a basic part of everyday communication. They are used to enhance our speech and provide emphasis as well as to indicate mood. Gestures like waving and pointing are used in their own right as a form of unarticulated speech. The vocabulary of gestures is so plentiful that we even have a subclass we qualify as “obscene.” Needless to say, there is no such thing as an obscene click.