Dance training and feedback system using wearable wireless sensors.

Teaching and learning the art of human body motion practices such as dance are interesting activities and they are usually performed at traditional training centres. Nowadays, learning the art of dance is becoming challenging proposition with a huge time and energy commitment. In recent times, there has been a vast advancement in computing and sensing technologies, and they are easily accessible. Based on these observations, we proposed a wireless sensor-based dance training and feedback system, which is convenient, flexible, and portable. This system is unique in terms of providing prompt feedback with various teaching and learning flexibilities to both trainees and trainers. In this thesis, an architectural framework of generic body movement training system, proposed in [1], is tuned and expanded to develop a dance training and feedback system. The proposed feedback system and its prototype implementation is the main contributions of this thesis. The proposed teaching and learning tool presents a method for generating meaningful feedback by capturing and analyzing the motion data in real time. The usage of the proposed system is demonstrated using Tap dance. Performance metrics are devised to evaluate the performance and a weighted scoring scheme is applied to compute the performance. The functionalities of the feedback system are illustrated using suitable scenarios. A combination of quantitative and qualitative feedbacks can be generated and presented to the trainees in three different forms: textual, graphical, and audio. The system also accommodates varying teaching styles and preferences of different trainers. We believe that such a two-end customization is a unique feature of the proposed system. With further tunning, we expect it will be a useful tool for teaching and learning of dance at the beginner's level.The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b180584

Assessment of human kinematic performance with non-contact measurements for tele-rehabilitation

 Aging of population is challenging the traditional rehabilitation services for various movement disorders. In the foreseeable future, tele-rehabilitation will be a contributive factor for the well-being of the older generation. This research has tackled a series of problems in developing an automated assessment tool for human kinematic performance in tele-rehabilitation with optoelectronic bio-kinematic motion capture devices and preliminarily confirmed its applicability