Exploring Human Quadruped Locomotion for Exergames

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel exergame enabling players to control a quadrupedal character using body movements tracked by a Kinect sensor, promoting immersive and intense physical activity without wearable devices.

Contribution

It introduces a new body-based quadruped locomotion exergame utilizing computer vision, expanding embodied interaction in fitness gaming beyond traditional methods.

Findings

Players found the system intuitive and immersive.

Gameplay masked physical exertion, enhancing engagement.

The system demonstrated high usability and potential for physical training.

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.