Movement accuracy: (a) mean of the deviation (D) for the four conditions with error bars representing standard error and (b) mean of the normalized path length (NPL) for the four conditions, with error bars representing standard error.

<p>Bars with different letters are statistically different from post-hoc comparisons.</p

Path used for virtual feedback in our experiments displaying the moving cursor, the start and end points, and the stations where scientific content is administered.

<p>(The image presented to the subjects was superimposed on a map of the zoo and included various animal species.).</p

Mean of the task duration (T) for the four conditions with error bars representing standard error.

<p>Mean of the task duration (T) for the four conditions with error bars representing standard error.</p

Movement smoothness: (a) mean of the speed metric (SM) for the four conditions with error bars representing standard error and (b) mean of the number of submovements (NSM) for the four conditions, with error bars representing standard error.

<p>Bars with different letters are statistically different from post-hoc comparisons.</p

Picture of the Novint Falcon.

<p>Picture of the Novint Falcon.</p

Scatter plot of the completion time of the trial with respect to the speed metric (SM) scores.

<p>The regression line is depicted in red. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient (<i>R</i>) and the probability associated (<i>p</i>) are reported above.</p

Mean (standard deviation) values for the motion performance indices among all the subjects of the two Kinect groups.

<p>Statistically significant differences are marked with stars (<i>p</i>(*) = 0.033, and <i>p</i>(**) = 0.010).</p

A natural user interface to integrate citizen science and physical exercise

<div><p>Citizen science enables volunteers to contribute to scientific projects, where massive data collection and analysis are often required. Volunteers participate in citizen science activities online from their homes or in the field and are motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Here, we investigated the possibility of integrating citizen science tasks within physical exercises envisaged as part of a potential rehabilitation therapy session. The citizen science activity entailed environmental mapping of a polluted body of water using a miniature instrumented boat, which was remotely controlled by the participants through their physical gesture tracked by a low-cost markerless motion capture system. Our findings demonstrate that the natural user interface offers an engaging and effective means for performing environmental monitoring tasks. At the same time, the citizen science activity increases the commitment of the participants, leading to a better motion performance, quantified through an array of objective indices. The study constitutes a first and necessary step toward rehabilitative treatments of the upper limb through citizen science and low-cost markerless optical systems.</p></div

Demographic data and experimental details for children with hemiplegia.

a<p>Gross Motor Function Measure GMFM-88 and Classification System.</p>b<p>Gross Motor Function Measure GMFM-66.</p

Bar plots of two kinematic indices in the two Kinect groups.

<p>Root mean square of the angular velocity (AVRMS) for the elbow Fl/Ex and pitch trunk stabilization index (TSI) in the two Kinect groups (KC and KNC) are depicted. Error bars indicate the 95% confidence interval. Statistically significant differences are indicated with different letters.</p