A Gesture-based Virtual Art Program for Children with Severe Motor Impairments - Development and Pilot Study

Art plays a vital role in child development. The Kinect Virtual Art Program (KVAP) was designed using Microsoft Kinect gesture recognition technology to allow the creation of art through non-contact 'virtual' button activation. This modality engages children with severe impairments who are typically unable to access traditional art processes. A pilot study was performed with five children with severe impairments to determine the level of physical engagement that these children could attain while using the KVAP over five sessions. The results indicated that the KVAP successfully engaged these children, encouraging physical activity and enabling them to create their own works of art, an activity that was previously not accessible to them using traditional approaches.