Human movement quantification using Kinect for in-home physical exercise monitoring

Abstract

The paper proposes a framework for in-home physical exercise monitoring based on a Kinect platform. The analysis goes beyond the state-of-the-art solutions by monitoring more joints and offering more advanced reporting capabilities on the movement such as: the position and trajectory of each joint, the working envelope of each body member, the average velocity, and a measure of the user's fatigue after an exercise sequence. This data can be visualised and compared to a standard (e.g. a healthy user, for rehabilitation purposes) or an ideal performance (e.g. a perfect sport pose for exercising) in order to give the user a measure on his/her own performance and incite his/her motivation to continue the training program. Such information can be used as well by a therapist or professional sports trainer to evaluate the progress of a patient or of a trainee.