Research on an assist system for sustaining the variety of activities of the aged people in house considering QOL

为了扩大老年人的活动范围，开发了监视老年人活动的监控系统和分析老年人在家活动的虚拟现实系统。”在监控系统方面，我们开发了一种识别方法，可以通过自然光的亮度和天花板灯的开关改变房间的亮度，从输入的图像中识别出人物。我们的运动分析单元利用虚拟现实技术，可以分析家具的高度和深度等尺寸对老年人工作姿势的影响，以及他们日常生活活动中身体各个部位的位置。结合本研究，我们还开发了一种使用人体链接模型的运动仿真方法。在这种方法中，人体的上半身用一个有八个关节的连杆模型来表示。考虑到老年人的物理特性，我们对每个节点的弯曲设置了阻力和约束。然后，我们指定了手指在运动起点和终点的位置，并将寻找每个关节弯曲角度的问题表述为非线性问题。由于使用了模拟模型，现在可以在任何时间和地点对老年人的运动进行模拟和分析。

We developed a monitoring system that watches the activities of the aged and a virtual reality system that can analyze the movements of the aged staying home for the purpose of extending the scope of activity of the aged. As for the monitoring system, we developed a recognition method that can make out human figures from input images though the brightness of a natural light and switching on and off of ceiling lights change the lightness of a room. Our movement analysis unit that takes advantage of virtual reality made it possible to analyze the effect of the dimension, such as height and depth, of furniture over the work posture of the aged and the locus of each part of their bodies in their daily life activities. In connection with this study, we also developed a movement simulation method that uses a human body link model. In this method, the upper body of a human being is represented by a link model having eight joints. In consideration of the physical characteristics of the aged, we set resistance to and constraints on the bending of each joint. We then specified the positions of fingers at the starting and ending points of movements and formulated the problem of finding the bending angle of each joint as a non-linear problem. Thanks to the use of a simulation model, now it is possible to make a simulation and an analysis of movements of the aged at any time and place.