When my grandmother was diagnosed with dementia I decided I wanted to develop a solution that would improve not only her quality of life but one that might be able to impact others affected by this disease as well.
A Body in Motion is a motion controlled sensory experience that allows users in the early stages of dementia to be guided through a short, low impact exercise sequence. A Body in Motion provides physical activity and also creates a calming virtual environment to enable a safe, productive place.
This experience is meant to help dementia patients learn a low impact exercise while exposing them to sound and light therapy that may help to improve flexibility and mood and may also trigger memories. Whether used alone or with a group, A Body in Motion can be part of a program to help dementia patients continue to be active and mentally stimulated.
Users are guided through chair yoga positions with positive visual and auditory feedback that gently encourages the patient into therapeutic positions. A Body in Motion uses machine learning to track the position of the user and when the patient completes each position the auditory and visual feedback responds in a way to make the therapy fun and interactive.
The design process for this project was completed in April 2020 as part of my Masters Thesis in Interaction Design at the George Washington University (GWU)and was planned as an exhibition in GWU's NEXT Exhibition, this was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID-19.
If you are interested in the research behind the project, you can click here to read the full research paper.
