Eyes-Free Yog n Exergame Using Depth Cameras for Blind & Low Vision Exercise



People who are blind or low-vision may have a harder time finding exercise activities. There are options such as exercise classes or exercise games played at home, but both of them have accessibility issues. Today I will show you Eyes-Free Yoga, which acts as a yoga instructor, coaches you through six yoga poses, and provides custom auditory-only feedback based on the Microsoft Kinect. Eyes-Free Yoga only requires the use a computer and the Microsoft Kinect. In this example, Kyle is attempting to perform Warrior Two Pose. She is standing about six feet away from the Kinect. In Warrior Two Pose, her arms are supposed to be at least an 80 degree angle from her spine. Using the Kinect Skeletal Tracking data, we can calculate using basic geometry that her arms are only about a 45 degree angle from her spine. As a result, the Kinect provides appropriate speech feedbac :11Now let's see this in action! In this example of Warrior One Pose, Kyle's torso is facing the wrong direction and her arms are bent. Rotate your shoulders right. (x2) Ding Lean forward. Ding Your core is good. Your legs are good. Straighten your left arm. Ding Move your left elbow backward. (x2) Ding Lean forward. (x2) Ding Your arms are good. Good job! Eyes-Free Yoga is not only able to detect when you are doing something incorrectly, but it is also able to tell you when you are doing a good job. Here, Cindy is performing Tree Pose properly, and only receives positive feedback from the game. Your core is good. Your legs are good. Your arms are good. Good job! Eyes-Free Yoga was developed by myself, Kyle Rector, along with Cynthia Bennett and Julie Kientz at the University of Washington.