To achieve the objectives, our team will setup Kinect to trace the movement of the target, store useful information into database and display desired data through a user interface.

In order to suit our project to real life environment, our group visited The Hong Kong Chinese Women’s Club Madam Wong Chan Sook Ying Memorial Care & Attention Home for the Aged (hereafter refers as “Home for the Aged”) for case study.  Tests on Kinect concerning about sensitivity, stability and sensibility during movement were conducted.  The results are encouraging.

According to Mr. Ken Cheung, physiotherapist who works at Home for the Aged, walking is a common practice they used to monitor alderfly’s body function. Therefore, we tested the Kinect on tracing walking motion. The elderly walks along a walkway with a length of 30m and they may turn around to walk back at any moment. There is a ceiling hoist that provides support to the elderly and a helper will be accompanying the elderly during the process for safety reasons.

Under this setting, the performance of Kinect is encouraging. Since the depth sensor range of Kinect is from 800mm to 4000mm and the effective sensible depth ranged only from about 1.5m to 4m by our measurement, it has to move with the user for recording. Ideally we would like to install the Kinect onto the track so that it moves with the ceiling hoist as the target moves. For simulation, it is placed on a trolley. Despite of the short range of detection, the sensibility and stability of Kinect sensing during movement is great.