An Interactive Aerobic Training System Using Vision and Multimedia Technologies

We describe the development of an interactive aerobic training system using vision-based motion capture and multimedia technology. Unlike the traditional one-way aerobic training on TV, the proposed system allows the virtual trainer to observe and interact with the user in real-time. The system is composed of a web camera connected to a PC watching the user moves. First, the animated character on the screen makes a move, and then instructs the user to follow its movement. The system applies a robust statistical background subtraction method to extract a silhouette of the moving user from the captured video. Subsequently, principal body parts of the extracted silhouette are located using model-based approach. The motion of these body parts is then analyzed and compared with the motion of the animated character. The system provides audio feedback to the user according to the result of the motion comparison. All the animation and video processing run in real-time on a PC-based system with consumer-type camera. This proposed system is a good example of applying vision algorithms and multimedia technology for intelligent interactive home entertainment systems.