Denise Betz

Advisors
Markus Wirth (M.Sc.), Prof. Dr. Björn Eskofier

Duration
02/2019 – 06/2019

Abstract
According to the musicologist Gunter Kreutz, dancing on a regular basis not only entertains people, but also has a positive effect on peoples’ attitude and can further be applied as a treatment for cognitive disabilities (i.e. early stages of dementia) [1]. Furthermore, it is a very popular activity, enjoyed by people of different ages. Learning to dance usually means attending a dance class where the instructor demonstrates moves to the students and corrects their mistakes. Since the time with the instructor is limited, different ways for technology-based training support are investigated. Chan et al. for example used motion capture in Virtual Reality to analyze the performance of dancers [2]. An Augmented Reality based approach was developed and evaluated by Davcev et al. [3]. Whereas current approaches already show the potential of immersive media (AR/VR) in the context of dancing, their results are based on a cross sectional study design that misses to investigate the performance development of dance students over time (longitudinal study).

Therefore, this work focuses on developing a responsive dance-training system for Virtual Reality that supports dance students over a total period of three weeks. To determine students’ performance improvements, the system measuresthe errors (wrong steps) as well as the accuracy of correctly executed dancing moves. As a gold standard, a dancing instructor evaluates the students’ improvements on a weekly basis. To further evaluate the user satisfaction of the system, immersion and user experience is measured using validated questionnaires [5,6].

References:

1. Karkou, Vicky, and Bonnie Meekums. “Dance movement therapy for dementia.” Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2 (2017).
2. Chan, Jacky CP, et al. “A virtual reality dance training system using motion capture technology.” IEEE Transactions on Learning Technologies 4.2 (2011): 187-195.
3. Davcev, D., et al. “Augmented reality environment for dance learning.” International Conference on Information Technology: Research and Education, 2003. Proceedings. ITRE2003.. IEEE, 2003.
4. Hachimura, Koaburo, Hiromu Kato, and Hideyuki Tamura. “A prototype dance training support system with motion capture and mixed reality technologies.” RO-MAN 2004. 13th IEEE International Workshop on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (IEEE Catalog No. 04TH8759). IEEE, 2004.
5. Laugwitz, Bettina, Theo Held, and Martin Schrepp. “Construction and evaluation of a user experience questionnaire.” Symposium of the Austrian HCI and Usability Engineering Group. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2008.
6. Witmer, Bob G., and Michael J. Singer. “Measuring presence in virtual environments: A presence questionnaire.” Presence 7.3 (1998): 225-240.