Synchronized online gymnastics could provide new possibilities for enhancing the physical and social well-being of people with restricted mobility. We propose a prototype platform for this – Online-Gym – which allows users to interact using a Microsoft Kinect and participate in on-line gymnastics sessions. In this paper we present the Online-Gym concept and a first iteration on the platform architecture that allows interaction in virtual worlds with movement captured by a Kinect device. The exploratory work done so far makes evidence that this approach opens significant opportunities and these scenarios may be further developed, enhanced and enriched.

1. 21-23 November, 2013
Vila Real - Portugal
Online-Gym: a 3D virtual
gymnasium using Kinect
interaction
Fernando Cassola | Leonel Morgado | Hugo Paredes | Benjamim Fonseca | Paulo Martins
INESC TEC / UTAD
Fausto de Carvalho - PT Inovação

2. Topics
• Interactive technologies and physical activity
• Motion Capture Devices
• The Online-Gym project
• System architecture
• Conclusions
• Future work

3. Interactive technologies and physical activity
• Videogames: high potential to promote
physical exercise
• Exergames: provide to the user the
development of sensory and motor skills
• “playing exergames could become one of the
most popular, engaging, and health-promoting
homework assignments of the twenty-first
century”- Staiano and Calvert (2011)

4. Interactive technologies and physical activity
• Many elderly refuse to participating in
regular training sessions outside their homes
• Exergames can help motivate elderly to
exercise more
• 3D platforms: multi-user, collaborative,
shared virtual environments, the “being
there” presence

5. Motion Capture Devices
+ cheaper
+ intuitive

6. The Online-Gym project
• Online-Gym is an exploratory
project prototyping an online 3D
platform based on virtual worlds
that allows users to interact with
the system through the use of a
motion capture device such as
Microsoft Kinect

7. The Online-Gym project
RINIONS
Pre-defined movements
No
Integration with Second Life Viewer adaptado
/ OpenSimulator
Source-code
Software
(pequena extensão)
Open
Microsoft Kinect SDK
/ OpenNI
FAAST
Yes
NUILIB
Yes
É necessário implementar É necessário implementar
nos viewers toda a
nos viewers toda a
reprodução dos gestos
reprodução dos gestos
Announced but not
available
OpenNI
Open
Microsoft Kinect SDK /
OpenNI

8. System architecture

9. Conclusions
• The Online-Gym project has a lot of potential for users who are isolated,
dispersed geographically or with reduced mobility.
• We should be careful particularly in the synchronization of the movements
and their impact on the network for other users.
• The integration between virtual 3D platforms and motion capture devices
have a huge margin for improvement and there is potential for development
and deployment of such services.

10. Future work
• Need to further study the solutions for remote transmission of gestures
made in front of the Kinect.
• How can we synchronize the movements made by each user physically
distant.
• The issue of the platform independence

11. 21-23 November, 2013
Vila Real - Portugal
Online-Gym: a 3D virtual
gymnasium using Kinect
interaction
Fernando Cassola | Leonel Morgado | Hugo Paredes | Benjamim Fonseca | Paulo Martins
INESC TEC / UTAD
Fausto de Carvalho - PT Inovação