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Norut Introduces New Kinect Game for Elderly

Norut Introduces New Kinect Game for Elderly images: NORUT 

The Norwegian research group Norut has developed a new Kinect-based interactive game for seniors, designed to motivate them to stay active and train their balance and coordination.

Norut (Northern Research Institute) researchers have recently introduced FarmUp, a new Kinect game developed to help seniors stay active and healthy. The game is designed to help the elderly improve their coordination, balance, and mobility through a series of exercises developed by physiotherapists at Kliniken Valens in Switzerland. Developed in Tromsø in Norway, the new game is the result of a collaboration with game developers at the interactive studio PlusPoint.

norut interactive game

Norut is actively involved in Ambient Assisted Living (AAL), a European research program dedicated to creating technologies that can improve seniors' mobility, health, and overall quality of life. In September, Norut presented a set of active games at the AAL Forum 2014, held in Bucharest, Romania. The games were developed in collaboration with Norut's partners in Switzerland, Norway, and Spain. FarmUp, one of the games demoed at the forum, drew considerable interest from visitors, with a number of municipalities across Europe expressing interest in testing the game with their own elderly citizens.

norut interactive gamenorut interactive game

The design of the games presented at the AAL Forum was developed by all the partners in the EU project, which was launched to promote mobility among the elderly. The project, called GameUp, aims to create fun active games that motivate the elderly to keep moving and stay active. Along with developing games and exercises for mobility training, the project's goals include creating a professional portal for carers, developing solutions that help prolong the time seniors can live independently in their own homes, and establishing a strong industrial base in Europe through solutions that meet the needs of end users. GameUp uses social elements, serious games, and various persuasive technologies to improve seniors' confidence and encourage them to stay active.

norut interactive gamenorut interactive game

norut interactive gamenorut interactive game

Seniors often suffer from limited mobility and, to make matters worse, their lack of confidence in their own ability leads to inactivity, increased risk of falls, reduced social participation, and a number of limitations in daily activities. Physical activity and exercise are essential for seniors to stay mobile and healthy, both physically and emotionally. Technology-based solutions and active games are known to improve the overall fitness level in seniors, but there aren't many solutions that address limited mobility resulting from lack of motivation and self-efficacy. GameUp aims to tackle all the obstacles that keep seniors from staying active and sustaining their quality of life well into their later years by developing solutions that both engage the elderly in daily exercise and help them overcome their lack of motivation and fear of injury.

GameUp uses innovative technologies that are known to modify behaviours to promote mobility and healthy lifestyles among seniors. The games use a camera and a step counter as motion sensors to help the elderly improve their endurance, balance, and strength. GameUp also plans to develop a platform for social and active games designed to eliminate all the physical and motivational barriers that keep the elderly from exercising.

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