Skyfarer: A Mixed-Reality Shoulder Exercise Game

Skyfarer is a mixed-reality shoulder exercise game developed for prevention and treatment of shoulder pain for individuals with spinal-cord injury. The virtual environment immerses players into an adventure inspired by Pre-Colombian mythology inspired by landscapes of South America. With each exercise, players prepare, propel, and lift their vessel into water or air, collecting energy that can be used during breaks between exercise sets.

The system is based on a second-generation integrated exercise hardware and software system that was evaluated in a biomechanical study at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center. The system consists of an adjustable metal rig outfitted with GameTrak sensors that are attached to interchangeable TheraBands and free weights. The rig can accommodate individuals with various types of manual wheelchairs and can be adjusted for arm length. The GameTrak sensors provide three-dimensional movement data to the calibration and exercise software application that was developed in Unity Engine 3.5.

Skyfarer emerged after iterating numerous prototypes that incorporated individual elements of a shoulder exercise protocol using a first-generation metal rig in a randomized clinical trial. It requires calibration to the physical dimensions and muscle strength of individual players. Player profiles can be stored, and the number of required repetitions per exercise can be manually adjusted before playing. Skyfarer 0.5b incorporates Microsoft Kinect as input for free-form movement segments of the game, such as drawing, and features improved calibration, animation, and movement cuing.