Privacy-Aware Human Motion Tracking with Realtime Haptic Feedback

In this paper, we describe a system that integrates 3D motion sensors, wearable devices, and smart phones to perform privacy-aware human motion tracking with real time haptic feedback. The system is designed to enhance safe patient handling and thus reduce the injury rates of health caregivers in nursing homes and hospitals. Due to privacy concern and governmental regulations, it is paramount that only consented caregivers are tracked. Our system satisfies this requirement by employing a registration process for consented caregivers before their activities are monitored. The registration process involves the corroboration of human motion captured in different modalities (computer-vision-based and accelerometer-based). Patient handling activities of caregivers are assessed in real time using a rule-based approach. Upon detection of unsafe activities, haptic feedback is delivered in real time to the caregiver via the wearable device worn by the caregiver.