Kinect Based Real-time Workout Monitoring System

Abstract

The aim of this thesis is to investigate new methods in monitoring workouts to prevent workout related injuries. The main focus was to domesticate the workout monitoring system. Innovation of the Microsoft Kinect device has provided a low cost movement tracking system allows the domestication of such system affordable. Literature review elaborate gaps in the real time feedback system during the workout without interrupting the user in current workout monitoring systems. This thesis combines Kinect and Arduino technologies to create workout monitoring system with real time feedback to the user. Kinect device is been used to track the user movements. Arduino is been used to construct the wearable haptic device. Bluetooth technology has been used to implement communication between these two components. Accuracy of the workout is measured using variation of the key joint angles compared with a physiotherapist’s expert workout routine. Evaluation of the thesis project carried out by allowing practitioners to perform workouts wearing haptic device and without wearing the haptic device. All the participants were physiotherapeutic students of University of Colombo. Occurrence of errors in the workout session and the variation of the practitioner’s joint angles when compared with the physiotherapist’s joint angle for a given threshold value have been used to measure the effectiveness of the project. The final evaluation suggest that the use of this workout monitoring system with the wearable haptic device have less significance in the improvement errorless body postures of the practitioner.