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Unique Cancer Treatment Center alex's place Uses Kinect for Windows to Help Put Kids at Ease

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Adrian Ruiz plays with an interactive robot during a visit to Alex's Place.A unique clinic for treating children with cancer and blood disorders, alex’s place is designed to be a warm, open, communal space. The center—which is located in Miami, Florida—helps put its patients at ease by engaging them with interactive screens that allow them to be transported into different environments—where they become a friendly teddy bear, frog, or robot and control their character’s movements in real time.

"As soon as they walk in, technology is embracing them," said Dr. Julio Barredo, chief of pediatric services at alex's place in The Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health Systems.

The clinic—which opened its doors in May 2012—was conceived of and designed with this in mind, and the Kinect for Windows digital experience was part of the vision from day one. Created by Snibbe Interactive, Character Mirror was designed to fit naturally within this innovative, unconventional treatment environment. The goal is to help reinforce patients' mind-body connection with engaging play and entertainment, as well as to potentially reduce their fear of technology and the treatments they face. As an added benefit, nurses can observe a child's natural range of movement during play and more easily draw out answers to key diagnostic questions.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

"I find the gestural interactive experiences we created for alex's place in Miami among the most worthwhile and satisfying in our history," said Scott Snibbe, founder and CEO of Snibbe Interactive. "Kids in hospitals are feeling lonely, scared, and bored, not to mention sick. Partnering with Alex Daly and Dr. Barredo, we created a set of magical experiences that encourage healthy, social, and physical activity among the kids.

"Kids found these experiences so pleasing that they actually didn't want to leave after their treatments were complete," Snibbe added. "We are very excited to roll out these solutions to more hospitals, and transform healthcare through natural user interfaces that promote social play and spontaneous physical therapy."

Kinect for Windows team

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Reflexion Health advancing physical therapy with Kinect for Windows

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Reflexion Health, founded with technology developed at the West Health Institute, realized years ago that assessing physical therapy outcomes is difficult for a variety of reasons, and took on the challenge of designing a solution to help increase the success rates of rehabilitation from physical injury.

In 2011, the Reflexion team approached the Orthopedic Surgery Department of the Naval Medical Center San Diego to help test their new Rehabilitation Measurement Tool (RMT). This software solution was developed to make physical therapy more engaging, efficient, and successful. By using the Kinect for Windows sensor and software development kit (SDK), the RMT allows clinicians to measure patient progress. Patients often do much of their therapy alone and because they can lack immediate feedback from therapists, it can be difficult for them to be certain that they are performing the exercises in a manner that will provide them with optimal benefits. The RMT can indicate if exercises were performed properly, how frequently they were performed, and give patients real-time feedback.

Reflexion Health's Kinect for Windows-based tool helps measure how patients respond to physical therapy.
Reflexion Health's Kinect for Windows-based tool helps measure how patients respond to physical therapy.

“Kinect for Windows helps motivate patients to do physical therapy—and the data set we gather when they use the RMT is becoming valuable to demonstrate what form of therapy is most effective, what types of patients react better to what type of therapy, and how to best deliver that therapy. Those questions have vexed people for a long time,” says Dr. Ravi Komatireddy, co-founder at Reflexion Health.

The proprietary RMT software engages patients with avatars and educational information, and a Kinect for Windows sensor tracks a patient’s range of motion and other clinical data. This valuable information helps therapists customize and deliver therapy plans to patients.

“RMT is a breakthrough that can change how physical therapy is delivered,” Spencer Hutchins, co-founder and CEO of Reflexion Health says. “Kinect for Windows helps us build a repository of information so we can answer rigorous questions about patient care in a quantitative way.” Ultimately, Reflexion Health has demonstrated how software could be prescribed—similarly to pharmaceuticals and medical devices—and how it could possibly lower the cost of healthcare.

More information about RMT and the clinical trials conducted by the Naval Medical Center can be found in the newly released case study.

Kinect for Windows team

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The New Generation Kinect for Windows Sensor is Coming Next Year

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The all-new active-infrared capabilities allow the new sensor to work in nearly any lighting condition. This makes it possible for developers to build apps with enhanced recognition of facial features, hand position, and more.By now, most of you likely have heard about the new Kinect sensor that Microsoft will deliver as part of Xbox One later this year. 

Today, I am pleased to announce that Microsoft will also deliver a new generation Kinect for Windows sensor next year. We’re continuing our commitment to equipping businesses and organizations with the latest natural technology from Microsoft so that they, in turn, can develop and deploy innovative touch-free applications for their businesses and customers. A new Kinect for Windows sensor and software development kit (SDK) are core to that commitment.

Both the new Kinect sensor and the new Kinect for Windows sensor are being built on a shared set of technologies. Just as the new Kinect sensor will bring opportunities for revolutionizing gaming and entertainment, the new Kinect for Windows sensor will revolutionize computing experiences. The precision and intuitive responsiveness that the new platform provides will accelerate the development of voice and gesture experiences on computers.

Some of the key capabilities of the new Kinect sensor include:

  • Higher fidelity
    The new sensor includes a high-definition (HD) color camera as well as a new noise-isolating multi-microphone array that filters ambient sounds to recognize natural speaking voices even in crowded rooms. Also included is Microsoft’s proprietary Time-of-Flight technology, which measures the time it takes individual photons to rebound off an object or person to create unprecedented accuracy and precision. All of this means that the new sensor recognizes precise motions and details, such as slight wrist rotation, body position, and even the wrinkles in your clothes. The Kinect for Windows community will benefit from the sensor’s enhanced fidelity, which will allow developers to create highly accurate solutions that see a person’s form better than ever, track objects and environments with greater detail, and understand voice commands in noisier settings than before.

The enhanced fidelity and depth perception of the new Kinect sensor will allow developers to create apps that see a person's form better, track objects with greater detail, and understand voice commands in noisier settings.
The enhanced fidelity and depth perception of the new Kinect sensor will allow developers to
create apps that see a person's form better, track objects with greater detail, and understand
voice commands in noisier settings.

  • Expanded field of view
    The expanded field of view accommodates a multitude of differently sized rooms, minimizing the need to modify existing room configurations and opening up new solution-development opportunities. The combination of the new sensor’s higher fidelity plus expanded field of view will give businesses the tools they need to create truly untethered, natural computing experiences such as clicker-free presentation scenarios, more dynamic simulation and training solutions, up-close interactions, more fluid gesture recognition for quick interactions on the go, and much more.
        
  • Improved skeletal tracking
    The new sensor tracks more points on the human body than previously, including the tip of the hand and thumb, and tracks six skeletons at once. This not only yields more accurate skeletal tracking, it opens up a range of new scenarios, including improved “avateering,” the ability to develop enhanced rehabilitation and physical fitness solutions, and the possibility to create new experiences in public spaces—such as retail—where multiple users can participate simultaneously.

The new sensor tracks more points on the human body than previously and tracks six skeletons at once, opening a range of new scenarios, from improved "avateering" to experiences in which multiple users can participate simultaneously.
The new sensor tracks more points on the human body than previously, including the tip of the hand
and thumb, and tracks six skeletons at once. This opens up a range of new scenarios, from improved
"avateering" to experiences in which multiple users can participate simultaneously.
  

  • New active infrared (IR)
    The all-new active-IR capabilities allow the new sensor to work in nearly any lighting condition and, in essence, give businesses access to a new fourth sensor: audio, depth, color…and now active IR. This will offer developers better built-in recognition capabilities in different real-world settings—independent of the lighting conditions—including the sensor’s ability to recognize facial features, hand position, and more. 

I’m sure many of you want to know more. Stay tuned; at BUILD 2013 in June, we’ll share details about how developers and designers can begin to prepare to adopt these new technologies so that their apps and experiences are ready for general availability next year.

A new Kinect for Windows era is coming: an era of unprecedented responsiveness and precision.

Bob Heddle
Director, Kinect for Windows

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Photos in this blog by STEPHEN BRASHEAR/Invision for Microsoft/AP Images

 

BUILDing business with Kinect for Windows v2

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BUILD—Microsoft’s annual developer conference—is the perfect showcase for inventive, innovative solutions created with the latest Microsoft technologies. As we mentioned in our previous blog, some of the technologists who have been part of the Kinect for Windows v2 developer preview program are here at BUILD, demonstrating their amazing apps. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at how Kinect for Windows v2 has spawned creative leaps forward at two innovative companies: Freak’n Genius and Reflexion Health.

Making schoolwork fun with Freak’n Genius, which lets anyone become an animator using Kinect for Windows v2. Here a student is choosing a character to animate in real time, for a video presentation on nutrition.
Left: A student is choosing a Freak’n Genius character to animate in real time for a video presentation on nutrition. Right: Vera, by Reflexion Health can track a patient performing physical therapy exercises at home and give her immediate feedback on her execution while also transmitting the results to her therapist.

Freak’n Genius is a Seattle-based company whose current YAKiT and YAKiT Kids applications, which let users create talking photos on a smartphone, have been used to generate well over a million videos.

But with Kinect for Windows 2, Freak’n Genius is poised to flip animation on its head, by taking what has been highly technical, time consuming, and expensive and making it instant, free, and fun. It’s performance-based animation without the suits, tracking balls, and room-size setups. Freak’n Genius has developed software that will enable just about anyone to create cartoons with fully animated characters by using a Kinect for Windows v2 sensor. The user simply chooses an on-screen character—the beta features 20 characters, with dozens more in the works—and animates it by standing in front of the Kinect for Windows sensor and moving. With its precise skeletal tracking capabilities, the v2 sensor captures the “animator’s” every twitch, jump, and gesture, translating them into movements of the on-screen character.

What’s more, with the ability to create Windows Store apps, Kinect for Windows v2 stands to bring Freak’n Genius’s improved animation applications to countless new customers. Dwayne Mercredi, the chief technology officer at Freakn’ Genius, says that “Kinect for Windows v2 is awesome. From a technology perspective, it gives us everything we need so that an everyday person can create amazing animations immediately.” He praises how the v2 sensor reacts perfectly to the user’s every movement, making it seem “as if they were in the screen themselves.”  He also applauds the v2 sensor’s color camera, which provides full HD at 1080p. “There’s no reason why this shouldn’t fully replace the web cam,” notes Mercredi.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Mercredi notes that YAKiT is already being used for storytelling, marketing, education reports, enhanced communication, or just having fun. With Kinect for Windows v2, Freak’n Genius envisions that kids of all ages will have an incredibly simple and entertaining way to express their creativity and humor while professional content creators—such as advertising, design, and marketing studios—will be able to bring their content to life either in large productions or on social media channels. There is also a white-label offering, giving media companies the opportunity to use their content in a new way via YAKiT’s powerful animation engine.

While Freak’n Genius captures the fun and commercial potential of Kinect for Windows v2, Reflexion Health shows just how powerful the new sensor can be to the healthcare field. As anyone who’s ever had a sports injury or accident knows, physical therapy (PT) can be a crucial part of their recovery. Physical therapists are rigorously trained and dedicated to devising a tailored regimen of manual treatment and therapeutic exercises that will help their patients mend. But increasingly, patients’ in-person treatment time has shrunk to mere minutes, and, as any physical therapist knows, once patients leave the clinic, many of them lose momentum, often struggling  to perform the exercises correctly at home—or simply skipping them altogether.

Reflexion Health, based in San Diego, uses Kinect for Windows to augment their physical therapy program and give the therapists a powerful, data-driven new tool to help ensure that patients get the maximum benefit from their PT. Their application, named Vera, uses Kinect for Windows to track patients’ exercise sessions. The initial version of this app was built on the original Kinect for Windows, but the team eagerly—and easily—adapted the software to the v2 sensor and SDK. The new sensor’s improved depth sensing and enhanced skeletal tracking, which delivers information on more joints, allows the software to capture the patient’s exercise moves in far more precise detail.  It provides patients with a model for how to do the exercise correctly, and simultaneously compares the patient’s movements to the prescribed exercise. The Vera system thus offers immediate, real-time feedback—no more wondering if you’re lifting or twisting in the right way.  The data on the patient’s movements are also shared with the therapist, so that he or she can track the patient’s progress and adjust the exercise regimen remotely for maximum therapeutic benefit.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Not only does the Kinect for Windows application provide better results for patients and therapists, it also fills a need in an enormous market. PT is a $30 billion business in the United States alone—and a critical tool in helping to manage the $127 billion burden of musculoskeletal disorders. By extending the expertise and oversight of the best therapists, Reflexion Health hopes to empower and engage patients, helping to improve the speed and quality of recovery while also helping to control the enormous costs that come from extra procedures and re-injury. Moreover, having the Kinect for Windows v2 supported in the Windows Store stands to open up home distribution for Reflexion Health. 

Mark Barrett, a lead software engineer at Reflexion Health, is struck by the rewards of working on the app. Coming from a background in the games industry, he now enjoys using Kinect technology to “try and tackle such a large and meaningful problem. That’s just a fantastic feeling.”  As a developer, he finds the improved skeletal tracking the v2 sensor’s most significant change, calling it a real step forward from the original Kinect for Windows. “It’s so much more precise,” he says. “There are more joints, and they’re in more accurate positions.”  And while the skeletal tracking has made the greatest improvement in Reflexion Health’s app—giving both patients and clinicians more accurate and actionable data on precise body movements—Barrett is also excited for the new color camera and depth sensor, which together provide a much better image for the physical therapist to review.  “You see such a better representation of the patient…It was jaw-dropping the first time I saw it,” he says.

But like any cautious dev, Barrett acknowledges being apprehensive about porting the application to the Kinect for Windows v2 sensor.  Happily, he discovered that the switch was painless, commenting that “I’ve never had a hardware conversion from one version to the next be so effortless and so easy.” He’s also been pleased to see how easy the application is for patients to use. “It’s so exciting to be working on a solution that has the potential to help so many people and make people’s lives better. To know that my skills as a developer can help make this possible is a great feeling.”

From creating your own animations to building a better path for physical rehabilitation, the Kinect for Windows v2 sensor is already in the hands of thousands of developers. We can’t wait to make it publicly available this summer and see what the rest of you do with the technology.

The Kinect for Windows Team

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Intel-GE Care Innovations uses Kinect solution to help elderly patients

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“I’ve fallen … and I can’t get up.” That line, from a low-budget 1980s TV commercial hawking a personal medical emergency call button, has been fodder for countless comedians over the years. But falls among the elderly are anything but a laughing matter, especially to Maureen Glynn, the director of behavioral innovation programming at Intel-GE Care Innovations.

“Falls are a major health concern among the elderly,” she says, and the statistics certainly back her up. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that each year one of three Americans over the age of 65 takes a spill, and the results can be devastating: broken bones, permanent disabilities, and complications that can lead to death. In fact, falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults, with studies documenting that 20 to 30 percent of the elderly who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries. In 2003, for example, about 13,700 Americans 65 years or older died from falls, and another 1.8 million were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal fall injuries. Treating elderly patients who have fallen costs about $30 billion annually in the United States today, and experts estimate that that amount could more than double by 2020, given the aging population of Baby Boomers.

Under the watchful eye of the Kinect sensor, a patient performs her physical therapy regimen from the comfort and convenience of her own home.
Under the watchful eye of the Kinect sensor, a patient performs her physical therapy regimen from
the comfort and convenience of her own home.

What’s more, once an elderly individual has suffered a fall, he or she is much more likely to fall again without some sort of intervention. “I had a 76-year-old family member who fell five times, enduring repeated broken bones,” Glynn recounts. And while broken bones are no fun for anyone, they pose special problems in the elderly, whose ability to heal is often diminished. Seniors who break a hip—a common injury in falls among the elderly—may end up spending considerable time in the hospital and rehab, and may never attain full functionality again. Such sufferers become physically inactive, which, notes Glynn “can lead to chronic mental and physical disease.”

Glynn’s employer is determined to change this dismal picture. As its name clearly indicates, Intel-GE Care Innovations is a joint venture of two industry titans. Founded in 2011, the company seeks to transform the way care is delivered by connecting patients in their homes with care teams—thus enabling patients to live independently whenever possible. Augmenting the technological strengths of its parent companies with deep knowledge of the healthcare system, Intel-GE Care Innovations collects, aggregates, and analyzes data to provide insights that connect providers, payers, caregivers, and consumers—and brings the care continuum into the patient’s home. For example, the company has established the Care Innovations Validation Institute to improve standards for measuring and promoting remote care management solutions and services.

One of the company’s latest products, RespondWell from Care Innovations, takes direct aim at the problem of falls among the elderly. As Glynn observes, “As a company dedicated to helping patients receive the healthcare they need while maintaining as much independence as possible, we saw the need for a home-based solution that helps older people recover from and avoid falls.”

The Kinect sensor monitors the patient’s performance, correcting improperly executed movements and awarding points for those done appropriately.
The Kinect sensor monitors the patient’s performance, correcting improperly executed movements
and awarding points for those done appropriately.

Responding to this need led them to partner with RespondWell, a healthcare IT software company that, as CEO John Grispon explains, “specializes in activating patients and driving efficiencies. We motivate patients to follow through with their physical therapy, by making the activities interactive and engaging.” The company’s antecedents were in the gaming world, having created one of the first fitness games for the original Xbox, back in 2005. From there, RespondWell moved into the physical therapy industry, determined to do for rehab what they had done for fitness: getting people up and moving by making the often onerous rehab exercises interactive and entertaining.

Both Intel-GE Care Innovations and RespondWell saw Kinect as the logical platform for addressingfall prevention and rehabilitation among seniors. Recognizing how difficult it can be for older people to make daily visits to their therapist’s office, the teams at Intel-GE Care Innovations and RespondWell have created an interactive program that lets patients exercise in the comfort of their own home while providing Kinect-based gesture monitoring to ensure that they are performing their exercises correctly. The solution is sold to therapists and other healthcare providers.

It works like this: the therapist evaluates the patient and then designs a program of exercises that are intended to restore functions and, equally important, to prevent future falls. The patient learns the movements under the watchful eye of the therapist—and the unblinking lens of the Kinect sensor, which faithfully tracks the patient’s skeletal positions throughout the exercises.

Using data captured by the Kinect sensor, the physical therapist can track a patient’s progress and adjust the exercise regimen as necessary.
Using data captured by the Kinect sensor, the physical therapist can track a patient’s progress and
adjust the exercise regimen as necessary.

At home, patients call up their personalized exercise program on a Windows tablet or PC, which is connected to a Kinect sensor. They then perform the exercises, again under the view of the Kinect sensor, and the system analyzes their movements and provides instructions to correct any mistakes. The system not only corrects errors, but it rewards good performance with points, adding a competitive element that many patients find highly motivating. Glynn praises this positive reinforcement element of the solution, pointing out that it motivates patients without being overly gamified. She also points out that the solution not only monitors and coaches patients in the comfort of their own home, but that it also sends data about the performance to their therapist, who can adjust the exercises as needed.

RespondWell from Care Innovations was developed on the Kinect v2 sensor, which Grispon enthusiastically endorses, “especially the enhanced field of view, which lets us get a good look at the patient even when he’s very close to the sensor.” He also praises the v2 sensor’s improved picture resolution and enhanced skeletal tracking, both of which boost the solution’s ability to precisely record patient movements. When asked how easy it was to port the code from the original Kinect sensor to the Kinect v2 sensor, Grispon quotes his lead developer, who says that the process was easy and offers this advice to other devs, “Smoothing is your friend—use it.” (Smoothing is a feature in SDK 2.0 that makes it easier for developers to recognize joints in the Kinect image.)

Currently in pilot testing, RespondWell from Care Innovations is expected to be generally available by January 2015. Patients in the pilot program report that the solution makes physical therapy more enjoyable, while therapists are delighted that patients are more motivated to do their home exercises and that they are performing them more accurately. Both Glynn and Grispon stress that RespondWell from Care Innovations fills a vital need in our healthcare system. A system that not only helps seniors recover from falls but also helps prevent future tumbles could curb medical costs and offer the elderly a much improved quality of life. We’re pleased that Kinect can play a role in this effort.

The Kinect for Windows Team

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Kinetisense brings objectivity to range of motion therapy

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“Jane” had a problem: a so-called frozen shoulder, which made it painful to use her left arm. The pain, which had begun mysteriously eight months earlier, affected nearly every aspect of Jane’s life, making it difficult for her to perform routine tasks at her office job and at home.

She had tried a number traditional and alternative treatments, from massage therapy and stretching to acupuncture-like intramuscular stimulation and a soft-tissue treatment called myofascial release. None of these treatments provided meaningful relief, and Jane abandoned each out of disappointment. Emotionally exhausted by the seemingly incurable pain, Jane was prescribed antidepressants by her physician.

Then, as what he called a “last resort,” Jane’s physician referred her to chiropractor Ryan Comeau, one of the founders of Kinetisense, a Canadian company that has pioneered the use of Kinect for Windows v2 to record and track progress during physiotherapy for joint and range-of-motion problems.

Kinetisense’s software takes advantage of the Kinect v2 sensor’s ability to accurately record the exact position of body joints during therapeutic sessions. Unlike traditional methods of measuring joint angles, the Kinetisense system measures true joint values—based on the actual position of the bones—rather than approximating the angles formed by the external body parts.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Kinetisense uses the Kinect v2 sensor to record the exact position of the body joints during therapy,
providing an unparalleled level of accuracy.

Kinetisense algorithms obtain the positions of the joints and calculate the exact angle of any given joint at any time. And it does this in less than half a second, without resorting to imprecise hand tools, such as inclinometers and goniometers, or expensive wearable equipment. The patient simply stands or sits in front of the v2 sensor and the Kinetisense software performs all of the necessary calculations with remarkable accuracy and speed. And because the sensor is measuring the true positions of the joints, Kinetisense provides accurate joint analysis even when patients unintentionally try to extend their range of motion by leaning, rather than relying solely on joint movement.

The objective accuracy of the Kinetisense measurements allows the practitioner to adjust the treatment and reach a more realistic prognosis. What’s more, Kinetisense helps with patient compliance, which is a well-documented problem in physiotherapy. And while there are several reasons for noncompliance, Comeau notes that, like Jane, “Many patients with range of motion problems drop out of therapy when they fail to discern a meaningful lessening of their pain. But because pain is a very subjective matter, many people perceive it as an “all or nothing” proposition—either the pain is gone or it has not lessened at all. People may, in fact, be experiencing real benefits from their therapy, but fail to realize it because they are not yet completely pain-free. Kinetisense helps by providing both the patient and the practitioner with graphs that demonstrate real progress in range of motion, even when the patient has yet to sense the improvement in terms of pain reduction. The realization that therapy is working is incredibly reinforcing to patients, who are then much more likely to continue their treatment."

The precise measurements of the joint angles enable Kinetisense to chart improvements in the patient's range of motion.

The precise measurements of the joint angles enable Kinetisense to chart improvements in the
patient's range of motion. The quantifiable therapeutic results allow patients to see irrefutable
evidence of improvement.

Kinetisense meets the longstanding need for objectivity and evidence-based rehabilitation care—a boon to both the patient and the practitioner. And as for Jane, she’s continuing her treatment and shows ongoing improvement. She’s been able to reduce her antidepressant dosage by half, and has referred several friends and family members to Comeau’s practice.

The Kinect for Windows Team

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Kinect app for physical therapy put to the test

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A year ago, during the 2014 BUILD conference, we profiled Reflexion Health, a San Diego-based software startup that had developed a promising Kinect for Windows application to track physical therapy patients’ exercise sessions. We’re now pleased to report that this application, called Vera, is being piloted by five medical centers, including Brooks Rehabilitation, one of Florida’s leading providers of rehab services.

Vera takes full advantage of Kinect’s depth sensing and body tracking capabilities, both of which were significantly enhanced in the latest Kinect sensor, using them to capture a patient’s exercise moves in precise detail. It provides patients with a model for how to perform the exercise correctly, and simultaneously compares the patient’s movements to the prescribed exercise. Vera thus offers patients immediate, real-time feedback—no more wondering if you’re lifting or twisting in the right way. The data on the patient’s movements are also shared with the therapist, so that he or she can track the patient’s progress and adjust the exercise regimen remotely for maximum therapeutic benefit. The system even allows the patient and physical therapist to interact in real time through live video conferencing.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

"One of the features I've been most impressed with is the system's ability to capture subtle deviations from optimal form. If a patient is trying to move their hip to the right but they twist their hip, the system will provide feedback on the screen telling them how to perform the exercise correctly. It picks up the nuances that are really important to a physical therapist," says Drew Kayser, PT, clinical orthopedic therapy coordinator at Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville, Florida.

Another enormous benefit of the Vera application is that it keeps patients on track with their rehab. As any physical therapist will tell you, once patients leave the clinic, many of them lose momentum, often struggling to perform their exercises correctly at home—or simply skipping them altogether. Vera gives patients detailed instructions and crucial feedback—and even counts their reps. Because Vera reports patient progress to the therapist, patients are less likely to cheat on the prescribed regimen.

"It's been shown time and time again that adherence to a home exercise program generates better results, but only about 25% of patients adhere to their exercise program. If they have to log in, I can tell how much they are exercising and how accurate they are with their specific exercises. It provides a level of engagement and accountability that will ultimately benefit them in the long run," explains Kayser.

Brooks Rehabilitation is testing Vera with patients who’ve recently had a knee or hip replacement and meet criteria to use the at-home system. They begin working with a therapist who sets up Vera in their home for the duration of their rehab. Feedback provided from Brooks will allow Reflexion to make additional, clinically based enhancements to the system—a boon to all future rehab patients.

The Kinect for Windows Team

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Kinect aids physical therapy

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Take the latest Kinect sensor, a PC, a high-definition monitor, and an onscreen avatar—and what do you have? The newest first-person shooter game for Xbox? Nope. What you have is one of most carefully designed physical therapy (PT) systems available: Kinapsys.

Created by RM ingénierie, a French company that designs and develops software for the healthcare industry, Kinapsys uses game-based exercises to provide comprehensive functional rehabilitation of PT patients. Patients simply stand or sit in front of the Kinect sensor and the monitor while they play games that entail movements that are tailored to each patient’s therapeutic needs. For example, a patient who has undergone knee ligament repair can play a game on a virtual walking trail. As the onscreen avatar strolls along, the patient must squat and move laterally to help the avatar avoid objects that hang from above or protrude from the side. Those movements are beneficial for restoring knee function.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

The Kinect sensor captures the patient’s movements and transfers them to the avatar. More importantly, the sensor precisely tracks the position of the patient’s joints and compares his or her range of movement against prescribed goals that the therapist has entered into the system. At the end of the game, the patient receives a score that allows both patient and therapist to measure therapeutic progress accurately.

While the games are at the heart of the therapy, Kinapsys offers other interactive modalities that ensure that patients perform the exercises correctly. Here, too, Kinect-enabled interaction is an essential component. In every case, patients see their own image on screen, with their tracked joints superimposed. Depending on the therapist’s choice, patients might see a mirror image of themselves, which allows them to practice the moves and receive immediate feedback on their performance. Alternatively, they might see an avatar that provides feedback on the speed and rhythm of their exercise movements, or they might interact directly with a game interface.

Programmed with more than 400 specific exercises, Kinapsys allows the therapist to create a regimen customized for each patient at every stage of their therapy—from the earliest stages of rehabilitation through the reinforcement of reacquired skills. The system provides exercises and games that facilitate such goals as improved joint movement, muscle toning, gesture reprogramming, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. It also features programs that address the specific PT needs of patients with back problems and neurological damage from strokes. In addition, Kinapsys provides group therapy modules, and the system can be purchased in a mobile configuration, complete with a cart that lets the physical therapist transport Kinapsys to assisted living facilities, community centers, or anywhere that it’s needed.

But what really sets Kinapsys apart from traditional physical therapy is the Kinect sensor’s ability to track body movements precisely. This enables the system to measure and chart patient progress with far greater accuracy than ever, and allows the therapist to modify the regimen for maximum patient benefit.

The Kinect for Windows Team

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Kinect-powered rehab system gets FDA clearance

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Back in June, we featured a story about Reflexion Health and its innovative application that uses Kinect for Windows to help physical therapy patients. As we described at that time, the application, called Vera, was being tested at five medical centers. Now we are pleased to report that Reflexion Health has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Vera system.

(Please visit the site to view this video)

Vera uses the depth sensing and body tracking capabilities of the latest Kinect sensor to capture a patient’s exercise movements in precise detail. The system provides patients with a model for how to perform the exercise correctly, and simultaneously compares the patient’s movements to the prescribed exercise. Anyone who’s struggled to follow the traditional stick-figure drawings of rehab exercises will appreciate Vera’s precise, real-time feedback—no more wondering if you’re lifting or twisting in the right way. The data on the patient’s movements are also shared with the therapist, who can track the patient’s progress and adjust the exercise regimen remotely for maximum therapeutic benefit.

FDA approval marks an important milestone for Reflexion Health. "We are thrilled to be one of a growing number of digital medicine companies to receive FDA clearance to use innovative tools and methods, such as Vera, to deliver care in a more engaging and efficient way," says Spencer Hutchins, CEO and co-founder of Reflexion Health. "We look forward to continuing to demonstrate Vera's positive impact on patients, doctors, and therapists.”

The Kinect for Windows Team

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Kinect aids physical therapy

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Take the latest Kinect sensor, a PC, a high-definition monitor, and an onscreen avatar—and what do you have? The newest first-person shooter game for Xbox? Nope. What you have is one of most carefully designed physical therapy (PT) systems available: Kinapsys.

Created by RM ingénierie, a French company that designs and develops software for the healthcare industry, Kinapsys uses game-based exercises to provide comprehensive functional rehabilitation of PT patients. Patients simply stand or sit in front of the Kinect sensor and the monitor while they play games that entail movements that are tailored to each patient’s therapeutic needs. For example, a patient who has undergone knee ligament repair can play a game on a virtual walking trail. As the onscreen avatar strolls along, the patient must squat and move laterally to help the avatar avoid objects that hang from above or protrude from the side. Those movements are beneficial for restoring knee function.

The Kinect sensor captures the patient’s movements and transfers them to the avatar. More importantly, the sensor precisely tracks the position of the patient’s joints and compares his or her range of movement against prescribed goals that the therapist has entered into the system. At the end of the game, the patient receives a score that allows both patient and therapist to measure therapeutic progress accurately.

While the games are at the heart of the therapy, Kinapsys offers other interactive modalities that ensure that patients perform the exercises correctly. Here, too, Kinect-enabled interaction is an essential component. In every case, patients see their own image on screen, with their tracked joints superimposed. Depending on the therapist’s choice, patients might see a mirror image of themselves, which allows them to practice the moves and receive immediate feedback on their performance. Alternatively, they might see an avatar that provides feedback on the speed and rhythm of their exercise movements, or they might interact directly with a game interface.

Programmed with more than 400 specific exercises, Kinapsys allows the therapist to create a regimen customized for each patient at every stage of their therapy—from the earliest stages of rehabilitation through the reinforcement of reacquired skills. The system provides exercises and games that facilitate such goals as improved joint movement, muscle toning, gesture reprogramming, flexibility, and cardiovascular fitness. It also features programs that address the specific PT needs of patients with back problems and neurological damage from strokes. In addition, Kinapsys provides group therapy modules, and the system can be purchased in a mobile configuration, complete with a cart that lets the physical therapist transport Kinapsys to assisted living facilities, community centers, or anywhere that it’s needed.

But what really sets Kinapsys apart from traditional physical therapy is the Kinect sensor’s ability to track body movements precisely. This enables the system to measure and chart patient progress with far greater accuracy than ever, and allows the therapist to modify the regimen for maximum patient benefit.

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Gesture control in Unity via Kinect for Windows

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Are you developing a Unity app and wish you could easily add gesture control? Well, just like Glinda from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Kristina Rothe can grant you your wish. However, Kristina, a game development evangelist at Microsoft Germany, uses a video camera instead of a wand, and her magic lies in this detailed video:

Follow Kristina’s video tutorial and you’ll be on your way to creating Kinect-enabled gesture controls for your Unity app—or interactive games. You won’t even need to click your heels three times (though you can if you want to). What you will need is the latest Kinect sensor, the free Kinect for Windows software development kit (SDK 2.0), and the free Kinect plug-in for Unity. Plus, of course, Unity 5, and as Kristina notes in her video, you don’t have to pay for the Professional Edition of Unity 5, as the free Personal Edition provides the necessary engine capabilities.

Once you have the hardware and software, Kristina’s tutorial will take you through each step in the process of creating and adding gesture control to a Unity project. Her patient and detailed explanations will be a wish-come-true for anyone eager to build a gesture-controlled interactive app.

Remember, “there’s no place like home”—and as long as that home includes the latest Kinect sensor and Unity 5, it will be a happily interactive one indeed.

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Can Kinect replace the white cane?

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Technology has offered tantalizing prospects to replace the white cane—the traditional low-tech accessory that people who are blind use to detect obstacles in their path. Researchers have experimented with systems based on sonar and on lasers, and while some of these have shown promise, they all require highly specialized and often costly hardware. Now, a multinational team of researchers—Nadia Kanwal of Pakistan, Erkan Bostanci of Turkey, and Keith Currie and Adrian F. Clark, both from the UK—has developed a prototype system that uses the Kinect sensor, a battery, and a laptop PC, a readily available and comparatively inexpensive combination.

 The prototype system is strapped to the user’s body; for the production model, the researchers envision a smaller apparatus.
The prototype system is strapped to the user’s body; for the production model, the researchers
envision a smaller apparatus.

The new system uses the Kinect sensor’s infrared depth sensing capabilities and its RGB video camera to provide information on objects and their distance from a person who is blind or has low vision. It works like this: once its infrared and video sensors have been calibrated, the Kinect sensor’s RGB camera detects the corners of objects in its field of view. This data is correlated with data from the depth sensor, and the result provides information about the presence of an obstacle ahead and its distance from the user.

Lead researcher Kanwal, an assistant professor of computer science at Lahore College for Women University, has spent years exploring the use of adaptive technologies to assist people with special needs. Speaking about the potential value of the Kinect-based system, she says, “A blind person wants to adapt anything that makes them more independent in mobility; therefore, a system that can identify and warn about potential hazards would be much appreciated.”

The Kinect-based system checks for two types of obstacles: those, such as walls, that can completely block a person’s progress, and smaller ones, such as chairs, that can be avoided by changing direction. When an obstruction is detected, the system warns the user to either stop (so he doesn’t run into a wall) or move right or left (so she can navigate safely around a piece of furniture).

The system is carried on the user’s body; much of the equipment is transported in a backpack or shoulder bag, while the Kinect sensor is strapped to the front of the user’s body. While the researchers acknowledge that this setup is cumbersome, they envision a smaller, more portable production model.

The research team tested the prototype with a blindfolded, normally-sighted subject and then with a subject who has been blind since birth. Both participants successfully navigated through a test environment filled with various objects. Interestingly, the blind participant felt that the system would be most useful when combined with the traditional white cane, whose sweeping action can detect smaller objects and changes in the walking surface that the Kinect-based system misses. Conversely, the Kinect system can detect large objects sooner and thus can help the user traverse more smoothly through a crowded space.

The researchers used the Kinect for Xbox 360 in their prototype, but are anxious to incorporate the latest sensor, the Kinect for Xbox One, which offers improvements in both depth sensing video resolution.

Although the researchers have more work to do on the system before it is production ready, the ability to use Kinect for Windows to effectively and inexpensively combine video and depth information offers great potential to help users move more freely through their environment. It might not replace the white cane, but it could go a long way toward complementing it and making the world more navigable for people who are blind.

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Kinect interactive display invites charitable support

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We’ve seen Kinect for Windows used in some amazing applications, from educational games to physical therapy to interactive shopping, but none has packed greater emotional appeal than the interactive display that debuted in Bristol, England, this autumn. The result of volunteer efforts by Andrew Spooner and Mike Taulty, both of Microsoft UK, the display uses Kinect for Windows technology to engage passersby and inform them about the needs of people in rural Africa—and, in the process, it encourages them to make a micro-loan to help finance small businesses in developing countries.

Spooner, whose wife works for Deki, a UK nonprofit that provides microfinance to entrepreneurs in underdeveloped African countries, came up with the idea. He enlisted his colleague Taulty, and together they created a mockup of an African store that is actually run by one of Deki’s loan recipients. The display was set up in the atrium of the Engine Shed, a hub for tech startups in Bristol, England, where its colorful graphics grab the attention of passersby, inviting them to take a quick quiz about the economic realities in developing countries like Uganda.

The interactive display is housed in a mockup of an African store that is actually run by one of Deki’s loan recipients.

The interactive display is housed in a mockup of an African store that is actually run by one of Deki’s loan recipients.

That’s where Kinect for Windows comes into play. About six feet in front of the display are three large squares on the floor, marked A, X, and B. The user is instructed to stand on the center square (the one marked X). The virtual storekeeper then asks the user to choose answers A or B in response to a series of brief questions pertaining to economic conditions in rural Africa. The user indicates his or her answers by moving to either square A or B, and the ever-watchful Kinect sensor detects the response and provides appropriate feedback. The BBC ran the following report on the interactive display.

In reality, the correct answers are pretty obvious: the intent isn’t to actually test the user’s knowledge but rather to drive home some key facts about what it’s like to support a family in the developing world. For example, users learn that although women in Africa make up 60 percent of the rural workforce and produce 80 percent of the food, they receive only 10 percent of the region’s income. Or that households in the developing world spend up to 20 percent of their income on primary education.

The use of Kinect technology is key to engaging users, all of whom are busy tech entrepreneurs scurrying through the atrium on their way to somewhere else. Few would be likely to stop and spend a few minutes answering questions on a touchscreen display. But a simple game of hopscotch? That can get the attention of even the most harried would-be tech mogul.

The display highlights some key facts about what it’s like to support a family in the developing world.

The display highlights some key facts about what it’s like to support a family in the developing world.

The quiz game ends with one final question: “Do you want to find out how you can change a life?” Those who move to square A (that is, answer “yes”) are invited to submit their email address by SMS so that Deki can get in touch with them.

Deki has been delighted with the response to the Kinect-powered display, noting that both lending and website traffic have gone up since its launch. And the BBC news coverage provided a public relations bonanza for Deki and its mission to support entrepreneurs in developing countries.

It’s also worth noting that Spooner and Taulty donated their time under a Microsoft UK program that lets employees spend three days a year on charitable work.

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Vitruvius simplifies development of Kinect for Windows apps

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Many of the posts in this blog demonstrate how the latest Kinect sensor and software development kit (SDK 2.0) comprise a powerful platform that you can use for developing interactive experiences—but as any developer knows, creating great apps requires hard work, no matter how potent the platform is. Anything that eases that workload should come as welcome news—which is why Kinect for Windows developers might want to take a look at Vitruvius.

Vitruvius provides a framework that simplifies many aspects of Kinect for Windows app development. For example, it eases the process of avateering, allowing you to animate 3D models by using your own body and a single line of code. It even provides a pair of rigid models, one female and one male, along with multiple textures. Check it out in the video below.

The product also alleviates a lot of the heavy math associated with implementing motion tracking in advanced Kinect apps. Vitruvius lets you easily calculate joint angles and find the heights of tracked users, the length of specified segments in the 3D space, and the rotation of the body in the X, Y, and Z axes.

Vitruvius also provides simplified bitmap manipulation and lets you take full advantage of the latest Kinect for Windows facial tracking prowess. And its gesture detector makes it easy to add waves, swipes, and other movements that facilitate Kinect for Window’s human-computing interactions.

Created by a team of engineers led by Vangos Pterneas, a Microsoft Kinect Most Valuable Professional, Vitruvius comes in different configurations, with different price points, ranging from free to a “platinum” package that goes for $1,099. But even the free version, which you can find on GitHub, comes loaded with features that speed up Kinect app development, including bitmap generators, background removal tools, angle calculators, and gesture detection. The platinum packages adds a host of advanced features, such as support for Unity 3D, high-definition face extensions, and avateering tools, and it includes free updates, phone support, 24-hour response time, and an hour of consulting with Pterneas himself. Priced in between the free and platinum versions are an academic version, at $199, and a premium edition, at $399. View the complete list of features for each version on the Vitruvius website.

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Kinect makes programming robotic arm a cinch

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What might you do with a robotic arm? Well, if you’re part of the maker community, the possibilities are almost endless. Hook it up to an Arduino or Raspberry Pi controller, and you’ll have a companion that can paint, sort objects, play games, and generally amaze your friends and relatives. All you need is a pile of cash and some serious coding skills. Or do you?

A recent Kickstarter campaign is promoting a the 7Bot, a robotic arm with six axes, a 17-inch reach, and big ambitions—coupled with a small price tag of $350. And better yet, you can program it without writing a single line of code, just by using your own arm to model the desired functions under the watchful eye of a Kinect for Xbox One sensor.

The 7Bot desktop robotic arm

The 7Bot desktop robotic arm

By using capabilities enabled by the Kinect for Windows SDK 2.0, the sensor captures the 3D coordinates of your arm joints, after which a set of reverse kinematic algorithms (actually, a series of multiplication operations between matrices and vectors, which the 7Bot team intends to open-source) calculates the angle of each servo that is required to duplicate movements modeled by your arm. Those data are then sent to the 7Bot via Bluetooth, and, voilà, you’ve programmed your robot without first getting an engineering degree. This video shows the process in action:

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Kinect-powered rehab system gets FDA clearance

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Back in June, we featured a story about Reflexion Health and its innovative application that uses Kinect for Windows to help physical therapy patients. As we described at that time, the application, called Vera, was being tested at five medical centers. Now we are pleased to report that Reflexion Health has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Vera system.

Vera uses the depth sensing and body tracking capabilities of the latest Kinect sensor to capture a patient’s exercise movements in precise detail. The system provides patients with a model for how to perform the exercise correctly, and simultaneously compares the patient’s movements to the prescribed exercise. Anyone who’s struggled to follow the traditional stick-figure drawings of rehab exercises will appreciate Vera’s precise, real-time feedback—no more wondering if you’re lifting or twisting in the right way. The data on the patient’s movements are also shared with the therapist, who can track the patient’s progress and adjust the exercise regimen remotely for maximum therapeutic benefit.

FDA approval marks an important milestone for Reflexion Health. “We are thrilled to be one of a growing number of digital medicine companies to receive FDA clearance to use innovative tools and methods, such as Vera, to deliver care in a more engaging and efficient way,” says Spencer Hutchins, CEO and co-founder of Reflexion Health. “We look forward to continuing to demonstrate Vera’s positive impact on patients, doctors, and therapists.”

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Trick or treat with Kinect

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In a 1930 jazz classic, singer Lee Morse advised that “t’aint no sin to take off your skin and dance around in your bones.” Well, this past Halloween, Microsoft software engineer Snorri Gislason let the neighborhood kids do just that—in a graveyard scene, no less—with some help from Kinect for Windows, the free personal edition of Unity, and the Microsoft Garage community.

Snorri’s clever Halloween app used the latest Kinect sensor to capture the gyrations of trick-or-treaters as they cavorted on the driveway. The app relied on the sensor’s ability to track 25 body joints per person—perfect for making a skeleton dance—and multiple users. Then, employing the RUIS Kinect plug-in for Unity 5, the app transferred the kids’ dance moves to skeletal avatars projected on a screen hung in front of the garage door, so the delighted trick-or-treaters could, virtually, take off their skin and dance around in their bones.

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Comic artistry, with a wave of your hand

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Not everyone can easily recreate a popular comic strip character—unless they have the Kinect-powered application that was a hit at the show at We Do BD Festival, a celebration of digital and print comics that captivated Paris in mid-October.

Created by Vincent Guigui, a Microsoft Emerging Experiences MVP (Most Valuable Professional), the app allowed festival goers to mix and match faces and body parts of 50 of France’s most popular comic characters, thus creating an astounding number of unique comic creations.

The app was simplicity itself for users. The would-be cartoonists simply stood in front of a large, interactive display of a well-known comic character; then all they had to do was wave their hands. A strategically placed Kinect sensor captured the gesture and responded by swapping in new heads, necks, torso, and appendages on the cartoon image, much to the delight of children and adults.

The cartoon mix-and-match app once again showed how Kinect for Windows breaks down the barriers that impede human interactions with computer-enabled devices. As Guigui notes on his Microsoft MVP page, “If you are interested in designing new interactions, you must remember that a natural interaction must make the user forget the devices in order to help him focus on the data and the actions he wants to perform. [The combination of] various sensors and devices [allows] the user experience to jump out of the limited frame of display and turn it into [an] immersive experience by creating a new paradigm of human computer interactions.”

Well said, Vincent.

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Kinect gaming with a mission

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Walking through the grocery store, you spy a bag of potato chips on the shelf. They’re your favorite—sea salt and vinegar—and they’re on special! Without breaking stride, you snag a bag from the display and continue on your way, hopefully in search of a more nutritious food choice.

Easy for most of us, but not for millions of cerebral palsy patients, stroke victims, and elderly people with impaired coordination. For these folks, this everyday scenario can pose a frustrating challenge, one that can even lead to a devastating fall. Wouldn’t it be great if there were a simple, inexpensive game that would help these people practice such everyday mobility tasks?

Well, there is: Country Ramble, a Kinect game available in the Windows Store (there’s also a free demo version). The brainchild of psychologist and game developer Tino Ågren, Country Ramble is a suite of three of walking games: BubbleWalk, PokerWalk, and BingoWalk. The games take the player on a stroll down a country lane, where he or she tries to pop bubbles, assemble a good poker hand, or illuminate bingo items. The goal is to provide a relaxing diversion along with exercise and coordination training.

The Kinect for Xbox One sensor is at the heart of the game. Players stand or sit in front of the Kinect sensor, which detects their movements as they march in place and reach or point with their hand. The marching movements propel players along the country lane, while the reaching and pointing gestures enable the players to burst those annoying bubbles, grab playing cards as they try to draw a straight flush (or maybe just two pair), or shine their light beam on the numbers that will result in bingo. Players can save their game results in plotted graphs or high-score tables, which provide a tangible record of improvements in mobility and coordination.

Obviously, these are not action games—but for people with mobility problems, they are as challenging as any first-person shooter. What’s more, their simple design makes the Country Ramble games perfect for people with cognitive difficulties, as well as for elderly folks who’ve had scant (or no) experience with computer gaming. Above all, Country Ramble lets players have fun while improving their mobility and coordination in an uncomplicated way.

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Kinect-enabled virtual fitting room sweeps the world

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We thought it was pretty big news when Zugara’s Virtual Dressing Room technology dazzled fans at Major League Baseball’s 2015 All-Star Game. Now the Kinect-powered application, which allows users to digitally try on new apparel, is popping up around the world—from Central America to the Far East to Red Square. It seems that Virtual Dressing Room has gone from the Major Leagues to the League of Nations. (Yes, we know that the League of Nations no longer exists, but you get the idea.)

First on the world tour was Panama, where Zugara’s Virtual Dressing Room kiosks debuted at a major shopping mall. The kiosks enabled mall customers to digitally try on a variety of virtual apparel items, from casual to chic, and view the results in multiple displays. Shoppers were captivated by the experience, as were retailers.

Zugara’s WSS for Kiosks Virtual Dressing Room Tech in Panama

The Kinect-powered Virtual Fitting Room was a hit in Panama’s Multiplaza Mall.

Halfway around the world, Zugara’s technology features prominently in “60 Minutes in Tomorrow,” an exhibit on augmented reality and virtual reality at Moscow’s SMIT Space Innovation Center. The exhibit showcases cutting-edge technologies that are poised to make an impact in transportation, shopping, and other aspects of everyday life. Zugara has two Virtual Dressing Room kiosks on display in the exhibit, which runs through the end of January 2016.

Continuing our globetrotting, we come to Xi’an, China, which hosted the Augmented World Expo (AWE)–Asia event in mid-October 2015. The world’s largest conference on augmented and virtual reality, AWE focuses on technology that helps people in their everyday work and leisure activities. Zugara was pleased to be one of the few US-based augmented reality companies invited to present at the Asian event. Matt Szymczyk, CEO of Zugara, gave a presentation on “Expanding Use Cases for Augmented Reality in Retail,” which highlighted the Virtual Dressing Room technology and its impact on retailer and brand tactics. Ginwa, the Chinese conglomerate that sponsored AWE Asia, has since announced plans to deploy retail pilots of the Virtual Dressing Room in Ginwa malls in Xi’an.

As an essential piece of Zugara’s Virtual Dressing Room technology, Kinect for Windows is delighted to be along for this round-the-world adventure. The latest Kinect sensor’s advanced body tracking capabilities are key to the Virtual Dressing Room, providing an accurate body map, which Zugara’s proprietary software uses to automatically size and scale the selected clothing to fit the shopper. What’s more, the Kinect sensor’s ability to accurately follow the movements of 25 skeletal joints enables enhanced motion and gesture tracking, allowing the software to synchronize the apparel to the would-be purchaser’s movements. Add in background subtraction and the insertion of a high-definition virtual background image, and the shopper needn’t imagine how she’d look on the streets of Moscow, Xi’an, or Panama City—she can see it right on the display!

The Kinect for Windows Team

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