VirtualGym: A kinect-based system for seniors exercising at home

Abstract

Serious games are games with a purpose beyond entertainment, and the sub-category of serious games conceived to motivate physical activity are called “exergames.” To date, numerous exergames have been developed to motivate users to exercise regularly and correctly. This objective becomes more challenging when the target user population involves older adults, in which case the specific exercise routine and intuitive interaction are of critical importance. Personalized exercise routines can be an effective means for remaining healthy; however, specifying exercise sessions for an individual user is a complex and effort-intensive task that requires multiple types of expertise.In this paper, we describe our system that supports exercise experts in specify an exercise routine for older adults and generates an exergame in which a coach avatar fluidly guides seniors through a personalized version of this routine. During the exercise session, the Kinect™ sensor collects data to evaluate the players performance and provide timely feedback. We developed the user interface of the exercise platform, VirtualGym, through an evolutionary process in the context of an empirical feasibility study with ten older adults. Based on the feedback we received from our target users, the original system interface underwent a sequence of changes and we have distilled our experience into a set of practical guidelines, relevant to the design of Kinect™-based exergames for older adults.