Banaras Hindu University

About: Banaras Hindu University is a education organization based out in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 11858 authors who have published 23917 publications receiving 464677 citations. The organization is also known as: Kashi Hindu Vishvavidyalay & Benares Hindu University.

Physical Fitness and Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Enquiry.

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought this fast-moving world to a standstill. The impact of this pandemic is massive, and the only strategy to curb the rapid spread of the disease is to follow social distancing. The imposed lockdown, resulting in the closure of business activities, public places, fitness and activity centers, and overall social life, has hampered many aspects of the lives of people including routine fitness activities of fitness freaks, which has resulted in various psychological issues and serious fitness and health concerns. In the present paper, the authors aimed at understanding the unique experiences of fitness freaks during the period of lockdown due to COVID-19. The paper also intended to explore the ways in which alternate exercises and fitness activities at home helped them deal with psychological issues and physical health consequences. Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 22 adults who were regularly working out in the gym before the COVID-19 pandemic but stayed at home during the nationwide lockdown. The analysis revealed that during the initial phase of lockdown, the participants had a negative situational perception and a lack of motivation for fitness exercise. They also showed psychological health concerns and overdependence on social media in spending their free time. However, there was a gradual increase in positive self-perception and motivation to overcome their dependence on gym and fitness equipment and to continue fitness exercises at home. Participants also tended to play music as a tool while working out. The regular fitness workout at home during the lockdown greatly helped them to overcome psychological issues and fitness concerns.

A Continuous Hand Gestures Recognition Technique for Human-Machine Interaction Using Accelerometer and Gyroscope Sensors

Abstract: Recent advances in smart devices have sustained them as a better alternative for the design of human–machine interaction (HMI), because they are equipped with accelerometer sensor, gyroscope sensor, and an advanced operating system. This paper presents a continuous hand gestures recognition technique that is capable of continuous recognition of hand gestures using three-axis accelerometer and gyroscope sensors in a smart device. To reduce the influence of unstableness of a hand making the gesture and compress the data, a gesture coding algorithm is developed. An automatic gesture spotting algorithm is developed to detect the start and end points of meaningful gesture segments. Finally, a gesture is recognized by comparing the gesture code with gesture database using dynamic time warping algorithm. In addition, a prototype system is developed to recognize the continuous hand gestures-based HMI. With the smartphone, the user is able to perform the predefined gestures and control smart appliances using the Samsung AllShare protocol.