Computer team develop yoga programme for blind people


A new computer programme has been developed to allow blind people to participate in yoga classes.

The stress management technique often relies on the participant copying an instructor’s poses in order to learn how to properly hold a position.

However, a team of computer scientists at the US University of Washington has now written a programme which watches how a student is moving, before giving spoken feedback on how to accurately pose in the correct manner.

Project lead Kyle Rector said: “My hope for this technology is for people who are blind or low-vision to be able to try it out and help give a basic understanding of yoga in a more comfortable setting.”

The programme makes use of Microsoft Kinect technology to track the user’s body movements and give auditory guidance on six poses so far, including the Tree, Chair and Warrior I and II.

Eyes-Free Yoga is described by the team as an “exergame” – or a video game which can be used for exercise.

Plans are now afoot to make the technology available for general download to users can start doing yoga in their own home.

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