Effects of Different Guiding Strategies on Biomechanics of Human Movement.

With regards to the increase in the aging population globally, how to build up a successfully aging society has become the main issue in health care and socioeconomic. In addition, living with high physical function is one of the main goals and solutions, and exercising regularly is a direct and obvious way to achieve this goal. However, being elderly, it might not be easy for them to practice or do exercise every day due to some of their limitations such as learning difficulty and lack of motivation.

Nowadays, there are many different types of exercise supporting tools, which are in terms of visual or auditory cues, including two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) cues. Accordingly, several studies mentioned the positive outcomes of using a 3D visual cue compared with using the 2D one. Also, a study found that combining visual and auditory cues together resulted in a better perception than using either one alone.

Coupled with a coming of a small flyable robot so-called "drone", which can be programmed to fly autonomously in a 3D space, a few research teams applied it in many interactive applications with humans such as sports education relating for example dancing and boxing. Moreover, there was a research team that explored the interaction between a human and a drone in a close-range design by controlling the drone using both hands movement, which was inspired by Tai Chi martial art exercise. As a result, they found important findings of the calming and focusing experience of the participants due to the low level of constant propeller noise of the drone.

Regarding this, the investigators assumed that applying a drone, which can be recognized as a 3D visual cue, to a kind of exercise may provide some benefits in terms of physical health. In addition, the investigators applied it to a simple Chinese martial art exercise called "Baduanjin Qigong" since it was recommended for everyone, especially for the elderly because of its low requirement for physical and cognitive abilities.

However, based on our findings, there is no published information about the effects of the drone as a visual cue or exercise guiding tool in terms of biomechanical effects of human motion. Therefore, these effects would be observed throughout this study.

Besides, the investigators hypothesized that exercising with the drone, which is a 3D visual cue in this study, could provide a significant difference in biomechanics effects such as the center of pressure (COP) and smoothness of the arm when compared with using a 2D visual cue like video, or no visual cue like the audio illustration. Also, resulting in a positive direction as an exercise guiding tool for the elderly such as increasing their motivation during exercise.