Unobtrusive, Continuous, In-Home Gait Measurement Using the Microsoft Kinect

A system for capturing habitual, in-home gait measurements using an environmentally mounted depth camera, the Microsoft Kinect, is presented. Previous work evaluating the use of the Kinect sensor for in-home gait measurement in a lab setting has shown the potential of this approach. In this paper, a single Kinect sensor and computer were deployed in the apartments of older adults in an independent living facility for the purpose of continuous, in-home gait measurement. In addition, a monthly fall risk assessment protocol was conducted for each resident by a clinician, which included traditional tools such as the timed up a go and habitual gait speed tests. A probabilistic methodology for generating automated gait estimates over time for the residents of the apartments from the Kinect data is described, along with results from the apartments as compared to two of the traditionally measured fall risk assessment tools. Potential applications and future work are discussed.