A Boxing Interface for a Games Console

Obesity is a serious health problem globally and it is on the increase. Half of the adult US population is expected to be obese by 2025 if current trends continue. A major cause of obesity is inactivity and it has also been linked to playing computer games. As a result, fitness games and peripherals for games consoles are becoming increasingly popular as a method of exercise and as a way to help motivate people to exercise. A wide range of these fitness gaming products exist and state of the art of these along with research in this area are discussed in this document. This paper introduces a gesture recognition system for playing boxing games on gaming consoles. The aim of this interface is to provide a method for exercising and to provide the user with a more intuitive and realistic way of playing boxing games. This document describes how the users movements and a variety of different punches are recognized by the boxing interface. This is achieved by analyzing the acceleration and Euler angle data from Xsens MT9 sensors placed in gloves and on the users chest. The boxing interface is connected to the games console via infrared. This is done by storing the infrared signals from the buttons of game controllers as sound files. These sound files are then played on a computer through a sound to infrared converter to control the game console. User testing was carried out showing that the interface helps to motivate the user and that it is effective and enjoyable means of exercise.