A Grammar-Based Framework for Rehabilitation Exergames

Abstract

Numerous serious exergames advocate the use of engaging avatars to motivate a consistent exercise regimen. However, the process of specifying the prescribed exercise, implementing it as avatar animation, and developing an accurate feedback-providing mechanism is complex and requires a high level of expertise in game engines, control languages, and hardware devices. Furthermore, in the context of rehabilitation exergames, the requirements for accurate assessment and timely and precise feedback can be quite stringent. At the same time, the Kinect T M motioncapture sensor offers a natural interface to game consoles, and its affordability and wide availability represents a huge opportunity for at-home exergames. In this paper, we describe our work towards a system that envisions to simplify the process of developing rehabilitation exergames with Kinect T M. The system relies on a language for specifying postures and movements between them, and includes an editor that enables rehabilitation therapists to specify the prescribed exercise, by editing a demonstration of the exercise. This exercise-specification grammar is used to drive the animation of an avatar and the provision of quality feedback, by comparing the player's postures (as captured by the Kinect T M) against those of the coaching avatar and the grammar.

A framework and immersive serious game for mild cognitive impairment

“…As can be seen, the majority of proposed serious game frameworks target physical rehabilitation only [1,6,8,18,25,27,35,46]. Several of these [1,8,25,27,35] construct a player profile by investigating player's characteristics pertaining to the rehabilitative context.…”

“…PROGame [6] records player's previous game actions but it does not reflect any player capabilities initially. The remaining physical rehabilitation frameworks [18,46] do not define any player characteristics or profile.…”

“…In terms of therapeutic elements, most of the physical rehabilitation frameworks [1,6,8,18,27,46] embed these within a game scenario and mechanics to enable the player to undergo the therapeutic tasks within the range of their capabilities. For example, the frameworks in [1,18,27,46] target upper limbs, the full body rehabilitation framework [8] targets full body exercises, upper limb to lower limb (plank walk, single stance, and hand and fingers interaction), and PROGame [6] incorporates an interaction mechanism for postural control. The remaining frameworks [25,35] do not take therapeutic elements into account and thus have no specific means to provide a specific rehabilitative context which leads to insufficient support The physical rehabilitation frameworks tend not to demonstrate a systematic approach to providing the substantial core gaming and motivational elements to support the player.…”

“…The e-health framework [1] uses a simple design interface to motivate those with mental distraction together with a visual avatar that the player may customise. Avatars are also used by other frameworks [18,46]. RGM [25] enables certain game mechanics for the player according to the interactions or behaviours associated with their player type.…”

PhyDSLK: a model-driven framework for generating exergames

“…In recent years, exergames have seen ever-increasing popularity in the video game market. Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360 consoles have improved the gameplay paradigm by introducing new interactive control systems [9]. While the Wii console allows users to interact with games via a remote controller, the Xbox 360 console provides a different and more immersive experience thanks to the Kinect sensor, which allows users to control the game solely through their bodies-i.e., without remote controllers.…”