Volunteers Needed to assist Senior Citizens to play Xbox Kinect® Sports
Channel: Virtual Reality For Senior Living Homes Residents
Date: 2016-04-20

Typically, we go into a senior care facility and utilize Xbox Kinect®.  Xbox Kinect® allows the user to interact with the gaming system through simple movements and gestures.  We have noticed that senior citizens respond well to the activity—enjoying participating or, in some cases, enjoy watching their fellow residents participate.  The importance of aerobic or anaerobic activity becomes greater as individuals get older.  As well as physical benefits, we have noticed a correlation with individuals suffering from memory loss as they are able to retain these new techniques on a weekly basis.  We see a huge moral benefit for the teens facilitating the activities as well as they gain an appreciation for their elders—a value that has somewhat diminished in today’s generations.  The exercise program that we use has nearly 70 games, which stimulate the elderly participants into becoming active.  With the use of the Kinect®, the elderly can operate the game through simple motions and gestures, allowing them to experience a degree of virtual reality.