04/04/20121 Laura Diment Student ID Supervisors: -David Hobbs – Flinders University, Adelaide -Tom Chau - PRISM Lab, Toronto Development of the Kinect Virtual Art Program to Physically Engage Children with Severe Impairments

Outline Background Hypothesis Art Therapy Kinect - Comparing Virtual Art to Textiles Design - Kinect Virtual Art Program (KVAP) Honours Plan Current Challenges Data Analysis Summary 2

Approximately 10% of the world's population have a disability 1 Many children cannot grip or manipulate paint brushes etc. Art is vital for a child’s development 2 No commercial virtual art programs for children with disabilities Similar products: Kinect Paint 3 - requires fine motor control Mitii 4 - to increase physical engagement through exercises; does not encourage creativityBackground 1 Langtree, I & L (2011), Disability News, Information and Resources, Disabled World, 2 Kohl, M A. (2011), The Importance of Art in a Child's Development, importance-of-art/ / importance-of-art/ / 3 Kinect Paint (2011), 4 Helene Elass Center (2009), Mitii – Move It To Improve It,

The features of the KVAP can provide individuals whose participation in art activities was previously limited with a means of engaging physically and expressing themselves creatively through art.Hypothesis

Art Therapy Used to Improve 1 : Communication Skills Problem-Solving Skills Social Skills Emotional Skills Motor Skills Self-Expression and Creativity Children with physical or cognitive impairments often cannot participate in traditional art practices. 1 Kohl, M A. (2011),The Importance of Art in a Child's Development,

Kinect – Comparing Virtual Art to Textiles Multiple cameras and an infrared laser projector - collect depth, movement and colour information. Textile Art Methods: Sponge with hand strap, Wheel chair art, Adapted paint squirter, Finger painting Benefits of a Virtual Program: No mess, No danger of consuming paint, Computer can compensate for impairments

Kinect Virtual Art Program (KVAP) The sensor tracks joints on the human body. Different menus appear at different depths from the sensor. This enables a variety of effects. Zoom allows smaller movements to be tracked while keyboard and mouse controls enable settings to be easily changed.

Honours Plan – Gantt Chart

Recruitment - Novita Children’s Services (approval pending) Number of participants = 15 Age of participants = 3 to 10 years old Ethics Application (approval pending) Programming Beta to full version of Microsoft SDK Current Challenges

Requirements: Therapist/teacher’s interface - easy to use Easy for children to manipulate Versatile Focus on big reactions rather than accuracy Obvious cause and effect responseDesign

Used to analyse levels of engagement, enjoyment and fatigue. Data Analysis

Monitor Toronto trial Obtain and analyse Toronto pilot study results Refine program Reprogram from Beta to full version Obtain Ethics approval and Novita approval for Adelaide pilot studySummary

13 Thank you. Any questions? Acknowledgements: Supervisors (Mr. David Hobbs – Flinders University, Dr. Tom Chau – PRISM Lab, Toronto)