Feasibility and Acceptance of Augmented and Virtual Reality Exergames to Train Motor and Cognitive Skills of Elderly

The GAME2AWE platform aims to provide a versatile tool for elderly fall prevention through exergames that integrate exercises, and simulate real-world environments and situations to train balance and reaction time using augmented and virtual reality technologies. In order to lay out the research area of interest, a review of the literature on systems that provide exergames for the elderly utilizing such technologies was conducted. The proposed use of augmented reality exergames on mobile devices as a complement to the traditional Kinect-based approach is a method that has been examined in the past with younger individuals in the context of physical activity interventions, but has not been studied adequately as an exergame tool for the elderly. An evaluation study was conducted with seniors, using multiple measuring scales to assess aspects such as usability, tolerability, applicability, and technology acceptance. In particular, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used to assess acceptance and identify factors that influence the seniors' intentions to use the game platform in the long term, while the correlation between UTAUT factors was also investigated. The results indicate a positive assessment of the above user experience aspects leveraging on both qualitative and quantitative collected data.