Introduction to low-cost motion-tracking for virtual rehabilitation

Low-cost motion sensors have seen tremendous increase in popularity in the past few years. Accelerometers, gyroscopes or cameras can be found in most available smart phones and gaming controllers. The Apple® iPhone, Nintendo® Wii™ and the PlayStatio® EyeToy™ are just a few examples where such technology is used to provide a more natural interaction for the user. Depth-sensing cameras by companies such as Microsoft, PrimeSense and Asus can enhance the user experience even further by enabling full-body interaction. This chapter will specifically discuss the use of the Microsoft® Kinect™ depth-sensing camera (Kinect) for rehabilitation of patients with motor disabilities. In addition, examples will be provided of how the Kinect can be used with off-the-shelf computer games or utilized in conjunction with modern game development tools such as the game engine Unity. The examples will outline concepts and required resources in order to enable the reader to use low-cost depth-sensing cameras for rehabilitation. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014