CRII: CHS: Novel technology for improving access to trainer-led aerobic exercise for people who are blind

失明或视力低下的人比视力正常的人更容易肥胖。预防肥胖的一种有效方法是定期锻炼，但锻炼教练通常会根据受训者的视力给予口头指导和反馈。为了解决这个问题，本研究将创建一个系统，使用传感垫跟踪学员的脚在步骤有氧运动，并提供重新定向反馈，如果她/他福尔斯与类同步。对视障人士的研究将用于确定如何最好地设计对受训者的口头反馈以及何时提供口头反馈。 还将测量系统精度。 这项研究将创造知识，帮助未来辅助技术的设计师。这项研究还将有助于提高视障人士的生活质量，为他们提供一个机会，在以小组为基础的有氧运动课程中获得无障碍体验。 为了实现该项目的目标，将首先进行一项经验性用户研究，其中有视觉障碍的人通过视频和音频锻炼进行有氧运动。参与者将在运动过程中被录像，研究小组将分析录像，以确定哪些口头短语帮助或混淆参与者。其次，将开发传感器垫技术和相关算法，以通过模板匹配来跟踪受训者的脚，以确定受训者何时在阶梯有氧运动中不同步地跌倒福尔斯。两种口头反馈将被开发：主动反馈，如果系统检测到无用的口头短语，和反应性反馈，如果人执行三个连续失误。将进行用户研究，以确定这种反馈的有效性，以及参与者对口头反馈类型的偏好。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

People who are blind or have low vision are more likely to be obese than people with normal vision. One effective way to prevent obesity is by exercising regularly, but exercise instructors typically give verbal directions and feedback based on the premise that the trainee is sighted. To address this problem, this research will create a system that uses a sensing mat to track a trainee's feet during step aerobics and provide reorienting feedback if s/he falls out of sync with the class. Studies with people who are visually impaired will be used to determine how best to design verbal feedback to the trainee and when the verbal feedback should be provided. System accuracy will also be measured. This research will create knowledge that will help designers of future assistive technologies. The research will also help enhance the quality of life for people who are visually impaired, providing them with an opportunity to have an accessible experience in group-based aerobic exercise classes. To achieve the project's goals, an empirical user study will first be conducted where people with visual impairments perform aerobic exercises with video and audio workouts. Participants will be video recorded during exercise, and the research team will analyze the recordings to determine which verbal phrases help or confuse participants. Second, sensor mat technology and associated algorithms will be developed to track the trainee's feet with template matching to determine when the trainee falls out of sync during step aerobics. Two kinds of verbal feedback will be developed: proactive feedback if the system detects unhelpful verbal phrases, and reactive feedback if the person performs three missteps in a row. User studies will be conducted to determine the effectiveness of this feedback, as well as participant preferences with respect to type of verbal feedback.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.