Design of a Computer Vision Based Exercise Video Game for Senior Citizens

Authors: June Tay, Ivy Chia

Abstract:

There are numerous changes, both mental and physical, taking place when people age. We need to understand the different aspects required for healthy living, including meeting nutritional needs, regular physical activities to keep agility, sufficient rest and sleep to have physical and mental well-being, social engagement to avoid the risk of social isolation and depression, and access to healthcare to detect and manage chronic conditions. Promoting physical activities for an ageing population is necessary as many may have enjoyed sedentary lifestyles for some time. In our study, we evaluate the considerations when designing a computer vision video game for the elderly. We need to design some low-impact activities, such as stretching and gentle movements, because some elderly individuals may have joint pains or mobility issues. The exercise game should consist of simple movements that are easy to follow and remember. It should be fun and enjoyable so that they can be motivated to do some exercise. Social engagement can keep the elderly motivated and competitive, and they are more willing to engage in game exercises. Elderly citizens can compare their game scores and try to improve them. We propose a computer vision-based video game for the elderly that will capture and track the movement of the elderly hand pushing a ball on the screen into a circle. It can be easily set up using a PC laptop with a webcam. Our video game adhered to the design framework we employed, and it encompassed ease of use, a simple graphical interface, easy-to-play game exercise, and fun gameplay.

Keywords: Computer vision, video games, gerontology technology, caregiving.

References:

[1] Y. Gu, S. Pandit, E. Saraee, T. Nordahl, T. Ellis, and M. Betke, Home-Based Physical Therapy with an Interactive Computer Vision System, 2019 IEEE/CVF International Conference on Computer Vision Workshop (ICCVW), 2019.
[2] Zhu, H., Du, J., Wang, L., Han, B. & Jia, Y. (2022) A vision-based fall detection framework for the elderly in a room environment using motion features and DAG-SVM, International Journal of Computers and Applications, 44:7, 678-686, DOI: 10.1080/1206212X.2021.1886417
[3] Oumaima, G., Hamd, A.A., Youness, T., Rachid, O. H. T. and Omar, B. (2021) Vision-based fall detection and prevention for the elderly people: A review & ongoing research. 2021 Fifth International Conference On Intelligent Computing in Data Sciences (ICDS), Fez, Morocco, 2021, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICDS53782.2021.9626736.
[4] Metkar, S., Mahajan, J., Adsul, J. and Chavan, B. (2022). Human body gesture-controlled gaming application. 2022 Second International Conference on Next Generation Intelligent Systems (ICNGIS), Kottayam, India, pp. 1-6, doi: 10.1109/ICNGIS54955.2022.10079850.
[5] Faujdar, N., Saraswat, S. and Sharma, S. (2023) Human Pose Estimation using Artificial Intelligence with Virtual Gym Tracker. 2023 6th International Conference on Information Systems and Computer Networks (ISCON). Mathura, India, pp. 1-5.
[6] Wang, J. Y. (2014) Comparison of game experience and preferences between young and elderly. 2014 International Conference on Audio, Language and Image Processing, Shanghai, China, 2014, pp. 101-105, doi: 10.1109/ICALIP.2014.7009765.
[7] K.M. Gerling, F.P. Schulte, and M. Masuch, Designing and evaluating digital games for frail elderly persons. In Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Computer Entertainment Technology (ACE '11). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 62, pp. 1–8, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1145/2071423.2071501
[8] W.A. Ljsselsteijn, H.H. Nap, K. Poels and Y. De Kort, Digital Game Design for Elderly Users, Proceedings of the 2017 conference of Future Play. January 2017.
[9] J. Li, M. Erdt, L. Chen, Y. Cao, S.Q. Lee, Y.L. Theng, The Social Effects of Exergames on Older Adults: Systematic Review and Metric Analysis, J Med Internet Res. 2018 Jun 28;20(6):e10486. doi: 10.2196/10486. PMID: 29954727; PMCID: PMC6043731.
[10] K.M. Gerling, F.P. Schulte, J. Smeddinck, and M. Masuch. Game Design for Older Adults: Effects of Age-Related Changes on Structural Elements of Digital Games. In: Herrlich, M., Malaka, R., Masuch, M. (eds) Entertainment Computing - ICEC 2012, ICEC 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7522, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33542-6_20
[11] G. Clemenson, S.M. Stark, S.M. Rutledge, and C.E.L. Stark, Enriching hippocampal memory function in older adults through video games, Behavioural Brain Research, 2020;390:112667. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2020.112667.
[12] N. A. Ismail, H.A. Hashim, and H.A. Yusof, Physical Activity and Exergames Among Older Adults: A Scoping Review, Games for Health, 11(1):1-17, 2022. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2021.0104.
[13] J. Sunwoo, W. Yuen, C. Lutteroth, and B.C. Wünsche, Mobile games for elderly healthcare, ACM SIGCHI New Zealand Chapter's International Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, 2010.
[14] A. Pyae, T.N. Liukkonen, T. Saarenpää, M. Luimula, P. Granholm and J. Smed, When Japanese Elderly People Play a Finnish Physical Exercise Game: A Usability Study, Journal of Usability Studies. Vol. 11. Issue 4. Aug 2015. pp. 131-152.
[15] J. Saari and T. Hynninen, Game Development for the Elderly: Experiences from Usability Tests in the Wild, MIPRO 2021, September 27 – October 01, 2021, Opatijia, Croatia.
[16] Y. L. Theng, A.B. Dahlan, M.L. Akmal, and T.Z. Myint, An Exploratory Study on Senior Citizens’ Perceptions of the Nintendo Wii: the case of Singapore. i-CREATe ’09: Proceedings of the 3rd International Convention on Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology. Apr 2009. Article No: 10. Pages 1-5.
[17] Z. Pan, C. Miao, H. Yu, C. Leung, and J.J. Chin, The Effects of Familiarity Design on the Adoption of Wellness Games by the Elderly, 2015 IEEE/WIC/ACM International Conference on Web Intelligence and Intelligent Agent Technology, 2015.
[18] A. Rienzo, and C. Cubillos, Playability and Player Experience in Digital Games for Elderly: A Systematic Literature Review, Sensors 2020. 20. 3958, 2020. doi: 10.3390/s20143958
[19] M. Havukainen, T.H. Laine, T. Martikainen, and E. Sutinen, A Case Study on Co-designing Digital Games with Older Adults and Children: Game Elements, Assets, and Challenges, The Computer Games Journal. 9:163-188. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40869-020-00100-w
[20] Y. Chao, Y. Scherer, and C. Montgomery, Effects of using Nintendo Wii exergames in older adults: a review of the literature, J Aging Health, 2015. 27(3):379-402. doi: 10.1177/0898264314551171.
[21] J. Chesler, S. McLaren, B. Klein, and S. Watson, The effects of playing Nintendo on Wii on depression, sense of belonging and social support in Australian aged care residents: a protocol study of a mixed methods of intervention trial. BMC Geriatr. 2015. 3:15:106. doi: 10.1186/s12877-015-0107-z.