April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

Most yoga classes depend on the participants watching an instructor to learn how to properly hold a position. For the blind or those who have problems with their sight, this type of class can be frustrating. Now, a new software program that watches a users movements and gives verbal feedback on what to change to accurately complete a yoga pose has been developed by a team of University of Washington computer scientists.

My hope for this technology is for people who are blind or low-vision to be able to try it out, and help give a basic understanding of yoga in a more comfortable setting, said project lead Kyle Rector, a UW doctoral student in computer science and engineering.

Eyes-Free Yoga, the new program, employs Microsoft Kinect software to track body movements and offer verbal feedback for six yoga poses in real time. The poses included Warrior I and II, Tree and Chair poses.

Rectors new program instructs the Kinect to read the users body angles. It then gives verbal feedback on how to adjust his or her arms, legs, neck or back to complete the pose successfully. The program might say Rotate your shoulders left, or Lean sideways toward your left to help the user.

[ Watch the Video: Yoga For The Blind ]

The end result is a video game used for exercise an exergame for yoga that would allow people with little to no sight to interact verbally with a simulated yoga instructor. The research team, which includes Julie Kientz, a UW assistant professor in Human Centered Design & Engineering, and Cynthia Bennett, a research assistant in computer science and engineering, believe that their program can transform a typically visual activity into something that blind people can also enjoy.

I see this as a good way of helping people who may not know much about yoga to try something on their own and feel comfortable and confident doing it, Kientz said. We hope this acts as a gateway to encouraging people with visual impairments to try exercise on a broader scale.

The team programmed about 30 different commands for each of the six poses based on rules deemed essential for each position. A number of yoga instructors worked with the research team to develop the criteria for reaching the correct alignment in each pose. The program first checks the users core and suggests changes to their alignment. Then the Kinect moves to the head and neck area, and finally the arms and legs. The program gives positive feedback when the person is holding a pose correctly, as well.

To develop this technology, Rector practiced a lot of yoga, deliberately making mistakes in order to test and tweak each aspect of the program. The result of this testing is a program she believes is robust and useful for the blind.

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Microsoft Kinect-Based Program Can Help The Blind Learn Yoga