2. It is a yoga exergame* that utilizes depth receptor
cameras through the Microsoft Kinect program.
It was developed by a team of three women from the
University of Washington.
Eyes-Free Yoga was specifically developed for the blind
and visually impaired population to become more
physically active in the privacy and safety of their own
home.
* An exergame is a video game that instructs various
exercises like, dancing, yoga, or interval training through
motion controllers or a tracking system.
3. Eyes-Free Yoga is a completely audible formatted game.
All yoga pose instructions are given through voice
commands in order to make the game more user
friendly for the visually impaired.
This is compared to other exergames already available
on the market that have little to no voice commands and
mainly have visual instructions.
Along with audio instructions, Eyes-Free Yoga utilizes an
audio rewards system. After the player has correctly
performed or corrected their given pose, the game will
not only sound an audible ring, but it will compliment
the player after they’ve correctly held the pose for a
minute.
4. Eyes-Free Yoga contains
various audible
instructions based off of
essential rules to hold
each pose.
• Initial Instructions
• Follow-Up Instructions
• Corrections for the
user’s pose
• “Lean forward,” “Move
your arms closer to your
head.”
5. There are six different basic
yoga poses for the user to learn
and master.
Each pose contains thirty
different corrections for the
game to recognize through the
Kinect’s sensors.
The Kinect is able to pick up on
the user’s position and
recognize when a correction
needs to be made through the
use of geometry and the law of
cosines to calculate the correct
angles the user’s limbs should
be aligned with.
The Kinect will then send voice
commands to the player on how
to correct their form, starting
with the core, moving outwards
to the shoulders and hips, and
then the arms and legs.
7. People in the blind and
visually impaired
community are more likely
to…
1. Suffer from more health
problems
2. Not receive a sufficient
amount of exercise
3. Be obese
8. Society
Parents and medical physicians
Low capabilities
Unable to travel to or have access to gyms or other exercise
programs
Low self-esteem and fear causes them to not want to go out
in public to exercise. They worry of being uncomfortable
with getting help from the instructor or the instructor not
knowing how to help a handicap student
9. Instill confidence in users
At home game format allows users to play in the comfort and
privacy of their own home.
They can play as much as they want and become more familiar
with basic yoga poses
Have the confidence to try a public yoga class or other fitness
activities and not worry about the instructor
Bring the users’ family and friends closer together
As health and physical activity of the users’ increase, they will
be more willing to do other activities with their friends and
family that they normally would not have been confident in
doing.
Won’t feel left out
Has the possibility to inform yoga instructors
Inspire to create other exergames for people with
disabilities
10. 1. Knowledge
Awareness and How-To
Word of mouth through friends, family, and physicians
Stronger Impact
No active knowledge awareness or observability
2. Persuasion
Forward planning
Most likely have a preexisting negative view of exercise
They would have to gain a more positive attitude from the
knowledge; they think they would be able to use it because
they have the right resources
11. 3. Decision
No trials, but users can download game for free from their
home which creates more of a reason to adopt
Relative advantage – No risk or cost at all
4. Implementation
Experiencing compatibility and complexity
5. Confirmation
Relative advantage-decrease in discomfort
They know they made the right decision if they see
improvement in health and higher confidence.
12. Yes, but only if the developers make improvements!
First model only has a six poses and the Kinect limits the
users’ range of motion
Can become boring and lessens the challenging and
rewarding impact
13. Eyes-Free Yoga is not the first exergame to be released on
the market, nor is it the first piece of exercise equipment
designed for the blind (http://rousettus.com/visuallyimpaired-yoga-mat/). What other exercise tools do you
think will pop up in the near future? For the blind? For
people with other disabilities?
