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Exploring Human Quadruped Locomotion for Exergames

Shamit Ahmed, Perttu Hämäläinen

Abstract

Embodying non-human characters and exercising abdominal muscles are both underexplored in exergames. We address this by describing the design and evaluation of a novel human quadruped locomotion exergame. In the game, the player lies supine on the ground and moves their arms and legs to control a quadrupedal character (a tiger), similar to common bodyweight abdominal muscle exercises such as the Bicycle Crunch. The motion tracking is computer vision-based, utilizing a Kinect sensor placed above the player, which makes our approach suitable for commercial premises such as indoor activity parks where a system needs to run unattended and without any wearable components. Our system extends embodied interaction beyond traditional bipedal or controller-based systems, demonstrating how natural limb movements can generate responsive and immersive quadrupedal motion within virtual environments. We conducted a user study (N=15) to evaluate the system's intuitiveness, control, and overall player experience. The findings demonstrate the usability and potential of our system, highlighting its intense physical nature. Participants reported that gameplay immersion masked physical exertion, allowing them to perceive rigorous core training primarily as play.

Exploring Human Quadruped Locomotion for Exergames

Abstract

Embodying non-human characters and exercising abdominal muscles are both underexplored in exergames. We address this by describing the design and evaluation of a novel human quadruped locomotion exergame. In the game, the player lies supine on the ground and moves their arms and legs to control a quadrupedal character (a tiger), similar to common bodyweight abdominal muscle exercises such as the Bicycle Crunch. The motion tracking is computer vision-based, utilizing a Kinect sensor placed above the player, which makes our approach suitable for commercial premises such as indoor activity parks where a system needs to run unattended and without any wearable components. Our system extends embodied interaction beyond traditional bipedal or controller-based systems, demonstrating how natural limb movements can generate responsive and immersive quadrupedal motion within virtual environments. We conducted a user study (N=15) to evaluate the system's intuitiveness, control, and overall player experience. The findings demonstrate the usability and potential of our system, highlighting its intense physical nature. Participants reported that gameplay immersion masked physical exertion, allowing them to perceive rigorous core training primarily as play.
Paper Structure (43 sections, 3 equations, 8 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 43 sections, 3 equations, 8 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related Work
  3. Human-Quadruped Motion Mapping
  4. Exergames
  5. VR Locomotion Techniques
  6. Vision-based Locomotion Techniques and Exergames
  7. Design
  8. Overview
  9. Design Goals
  10. Design Challenges
  11. Development Equipment and Tools
  12. Physical Setup
  13. Utilizing Computer Vision and Depth Estimation
  14. Movement Mechanics
  15. Forward/backward locomotion
  16. ...and 28 more sections

Figures (8)

  • Figure 1: Player movement. 1) Calibration pose held at the beginning of the game for 3 seconds, 2) Forward cyclic locomotion with all four limbs, 3) Movement for upward jump with all four limbs. Arrows have been added to clarify cyclic motion and jump motion directions.
  • Figure 2: Gameplay screenshot of user playing the game. Note the bottom-left corner displaying the live RGB camera feed alongside the real-time skeletal tracking visualization.
  • Figure 3: User Study Setup Layout (Left: Real setup, Right: 3D isometric visualization for clarity). 1) User performing movement in supine position over foam mattress for comfort, 2) Depth sensor positioned above the user, aimed downwards, 3) Video projector for displaying game output, 4) Projection wall facing the user.
  • Figure 4: Level 1, level 2 and level 3 design overview from the side highlighting key areas having their unique locomotion challenges.
  • Figure 5: Word cloud visualization of movement adjectives as mentioned by participants. The size of each word is proportional to its frequency of mention in the interviews.
  • ...and 3 more figures