Project Developments

Project MAPR has been devised by Mark Fitzsimons,

Alan OConnor, Paul Shannon and Ronan De Lacy.

We are third-year students of multimedia at Cork Institute of Technology, and share an interest in the promotion of new uses for available technology. We propose to aid the physiotherapy process for stroke patients by developing an application for the Microsoft Kinect that will teach the patient to perform prescribed exercises.

Currently, most of the work undertaken by the group has been researched-based. You can view this research and our initial ideas via our blog atwww.projectmapr.com. Other works include storyboards for possible games and activities to aid the rehabilitation process, with a selection of the games being tested and developed using Scratch2Kinect.

Why the Kinect?

The Kinect can track each limb and give instant feedback to the user. The Kinect does not require the use of a controller, thereby making it easier for some patients to use. The Kinect can store the patients details (BMI, resting heart rate, etc.) and generate charts illustrating to the patient the progress they are making so as to encourage continued hard work. The Kinect can send a report of each session to the physiotherapist, thereby enabling the tracking of the patients progress.

Future Developments
We hope to work closely with a physiotherapist so as to develop a prototype application for the Kinect. We also hope to work with a stroke patient to test our application and to receive feedback on the usability and benefit of the application. We have scheduled several meetings with professionals in varied fields so as to learn their response to our proposal and to take their advice into account as the project develops.