Paper Title
Recognition Of Antagonistic Exercise Using A Depth Image Sensor
Abstract
Dementia is one of the main reasons for elderly people becoming dependent on care. In addition to lifestyle
improvements, it is thought that cognitive function exercises and motor function exercises are also effective for the prevention
of dementia. Antagonistic exercise, which involves performing different movements with the upper and lower limbs on the left
and right sides, is a form of exercise that uses cognitive and motor functions at the same time. Preventive care specialists that
can lead this sort of exercise are few in number compared with elderly people, and are under a heavy burden. Therefore, there
is a need for an exercise support system that can reduce the burden on leaders. On the other hand, the Kinect has become
popular as a low-cost device that can acquire human actions. The Kinect uses a depth image sensor to obtain precise
measurements of human joint movements, and can thus be used to recognize antagonistic exercises. In this study we
considered the recognition of antagonistic exercise and designed a support system using a Kinect. To recognize exercises, data
representing the positions of the person’s joints as acquired from the depth sensor is used to evaluate the performance of
exercises and provide real-time feedback. This system uses audiovisual displays to explain to elderly people how to perform
the exercises, and displays model images to promote the exercises. We have also prepared four types of rhythm game where
people can perform exercises in time with music.
Keywords- Antagonistic exercise; depth sensor; joint position; exercise support system; rhythm games; preventive care