# Resource-Efficient Gesture Recognition using Low-Resolution Thermal Camera via Spiking Neural Networks and Sparse Segmentation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.06563 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.06563/

## Key facts

- Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 6 of its 22 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 12 Jan 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Surrogate Gradient Learning in Spiking Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.09948/) (2019)
- [Real-time Hand Gesture Detection and Classification Using Convolutional Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.10323/) (2019)
- [Fusing Event-based Camera and Radar for SLAM Using Spiking Neural Networks with Continual STDP Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.04236/) (2022)
- [DriverMHG: A Multi-Modal Dataset for Dynamic Recognition of Driver Micro Hand Gestures and a Real-Time Recognition Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2003.00951/) (2020)
- [Fail-Safe Human Detection for Drones Using a Multi-Modal Curriculum Learning Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.13666/) (2021)
- [Low-latency hand gesture recognition with a low resolution thermal imager](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.11623/) (2020)

## Built on by (most cited first, 6 of 6)

- [Real-Time Human-Robot Interaction Intent Detection Using RGB-based Pose and Emotion Cues with Cross-Camera Model Generalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.17958/) (2025)
- [Rotational Odometry using Ultra Low Resolution Thermal Cameras](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.01227/) (2024)
- [Federated Learning of Low-Rank One-Shot Image Detection Models in Edge Devices with Scalable Accuracy and Compute Complexity](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.16515/) (2025)
- [Deep Fusion of Ultra-Low-Resolution Thermal Camera and Gyroscope Data for Lighting-Robust and Compute-Efficient Rotational Odometry](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12536/) (2025)
- [Efficient Sensor Fusion for Gesture Recognition on Resource-Constrained Devices](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.13462/) (2026)
- [MirrorDistill: Illumination-Aware Latent Distillation for Efficient Low-Light Restoration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.25331/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

This work proposes a novel approach for hand gesture recognition using an inexpensive, low-resolution (24 x 32) thermal sensor processed by a Spiking Neural Network (SNN) followed by Sparse Segmentation and feature-based gesture classification via Robust Principal Component Analysis (R-PCA). Compared to the use of standard RGB cameras, the proposed system is insensitive to lighting variations while being significantly less expensive compared to high-frequency radars, time-of-flight cameras and high-resolution thermal sensors previously used in literature. Crucially, this paper shows that the innovative use of the recently proposed Monostable Multivibrator (MMV) neural networks as a new class of SNN achieves more than one order of magnitude smaller memory and compute complexity compared to deep learning approaches, while reaching a top gesture recognition accuracy of 93.9% using a 5-class thermal camera dataset acquired in a car cabin, within an automotive context. Our dataset is released for helping future research.