Air canvas: A real -time touchless drawing system using computer vision

Paradkar, Aarya Sunil and Pednekar, Kundan Laxman and Yenugudhati, Sai Vignesh and Jadhav, Atharva Deepak and Parihar, Kaustubh Ravindra and Patil, Megha (2025) Air canvas: A real -time touchless drawing system using computer vision. International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 15 (2). pp. 549-558. ISSN 2582-8185

This project presents a novel and interactive approach to virtual drawing through an Air Canvas system that enables users to draw in mid-air using a colored pen tip. By leveraging computer vision techniques in Python with the OpenCV library, the system tracks the pen's movement in real-time without requiring physical contact or expensive hardware like depth sensors or hand tracking modules. The pen's color is isolated using HSV color space thresholding and morphological operations, allowing for precise tracking. Users can perform drawing actions, switch colors, or clear the screen using simple gestures with the pen. The system is implemented with an adjustable color detection interface for real-time tuning and provides a low-cost, efficient, and intuitive solution for applications in education, art, and human-computer interaction. The Air Canvas demonstrates how accessible technology and basic image processing can be used to develop immersive and touchless interactive systems.