Skeleton Timed Up and Go

Abstract

This paper presents a novel approach to fully automate the Timed Up and Go Assessment Test (TUG) in professional environments. The approach, called Skeleton Timed Up and Go (sTUG), is based on the usage of two Kinect for Xbox 360 sensors. sTUG supports the execution and documentation of the traditional TUG assessment test and furthermore calculates nine events, which demarcate the five main components during a run. On two days we conducted an experiment with five elderly aged 70-84 and four males aged 29-31 in the activity laboratory of the OFFIS Institute, Oldenburg to proof the reliability and feasibility of the system. Results demonstrate that sTUG can precisely measure the total duration of traditional TUG and is capable of detecting accurately nine motion events which demarcate the components during a run.