3D Tele-Rehabilitation Beyond Today’s Internet

At the Beyond Today’s Internet Summit, researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas showed a working prototype of a next generation communication system that uses 3D video and force feedback devices to virtually recreate a physical therapy session between a patient and a therapist.   3D models of the two participants are captured using off the shelf Microsoft Kinect 3D Cameras and the models are placed in a shared virtual environment of one’s choosing. To simulate the physical touch aspect of a physical therapy session, the researchers used a Haptic force-feedback device, the data from which is also transmitted to and fro to recreate the experience of resistance in the virtual environment.   In this example, the team created a simulation where two individuals practice sawing a log --  a task that mimics the rehabilitation movements used by recovering stroke patients. The application is just an example of what can be achieved with next-generation networks and protocols that support high bandwidth and low latency communication.