1. A method for processing data, comprising: receiving a depth map of a scene containing a human hand, the depth map comprising a matrix of pixels having respective pixel depth values; extracting from the depth map respective descriptors based on the depth values in a plurality of patches distributed in respective positions over the human hand; matching the extracted descriptors to previously-stored descriptors in a database; and estimating a pose of the human hand based on stored information associated with the matched descriptors.