Using Virtual Reality to increase technical performance during rowing workouts

Technology is advancing rapidly in virtual reality (VR) and sensors, gathering feedback from our body and the environment we are interacting in. Combining the two technologies gives us the opportunity to create personalized and reactive immersive environments. These environments can be used e.g. for training in dangerous situations (e.g. fire, crashes, etc), or to improve skills with less distraction than regular natural environments would have. The pilot study described in this thesis puts an athlete who is rowing on a stationary rowing machine into a virtual environment. The VR takes movement from several sensors of the ergo-meter and displays those in VR. In addition, metrics on technique are being derived from the sensor data and physiological data. All this is used to investigate if, and to which extent, VR may improve the technical skills of the athlete during the complex sport of rowing. Furthermore, athletes are giving subjective feedback about their experience comparing a standard rowing workout, with the workout using VR. First results indicate better performance and an enhanced experience by the athlete

The Design, Development and Validation of a Persuasive Content Generator

This paper addresses the automatic generation of persuasive content to influence users’ attitude and behaviour. Our research extends current approaches by leveraging individuals’ social media profiles and activity to personalize the persuasive content. Unlike most other implemented persuasive technology, our system is generic and can be adapted to any domain where collections of electronic text are available. Using the Yale Attitude Change approach, we describe: the multi-layered Pyramid of Individualization model; the design, development, and validation of integrated software that can generate individualized persuasive content based on a user’s social media profile and activity. Results indicate the proposed system can create personalized information that (a) matches readers’ interests, (b) is tailored to their ability to understand the information, and (c) is supported by trustable sources

Inner Garden: Connecting Inner States to a Mixed Reality Sandbox for Mindfulness

International audienceDigital technology has been completely integrated into our daily lives, yet the potential of technology to improve its users’ life satisfaction is still largely untapped. Mindfulness, the act of paying a deliberate and non-judgmental attention to the present moment, has been shown to have a positive impact on a person’s health and subjective well-being – commonly called “happiness”. Based on an iterative process with meditation teachers and practitioners, we designed a new tool to support mindfulness practices. This tool takes the shape of an augmented sandbox, designed to inspire the user’s self-motivation and curiosity. By shaping the sand, the user creates a living miniature world that is projected back onto the sand. The natural elements of the garden are connected to real-time physiological measurements, such as breathing, helping the user to stay focused on the body. Moreover, using a Virtual Reality headset, they can travel inside their garden for a dedicated meditation session. Preliminary results seem to indicate that the system is well suited for mindfulness and induces a calm and mindful state on the user. The meditation teachers envisioned the use of Inner Garden in their practice

Are exergames exercise? A scoping review of the short-term effects of exertion games

Background: Exertion games are video games that require exercise. They are widely presented as health interventions, to encourage sedentary populations to take exercise at levels recommended by health professionals. Objectives: We consider whether games encourage acute exercise at levels sufficient to engender exercise-related health benefits, and in what conditions that occurs. Methods: In this article, we performed a scoping review of empirical research that examines whether exertion game play engenders exercise, searching Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed. Results: From 3171 search records, we found 243 studies of acute short-term exercise in games. While some observed moderate levels of exertion, players of many games fail to meet recommended levels. Few games encouraged vigorous levels seen in sports. Variation in results for games across different studies suggests that exertion motivation is highly dependent on nongame contextual factors. There is evidence games make exercise more enjoyable or reduce perceived exertion, but many studies suffer the methodological problem of comparison with boring control conditions. Conclusions: Exergames have only been found comparable to exercise such as walking, jogging, and dancing under very specific circumstances. To improve evidence for games as exercise interventions, we must improve study designs and focus on understanding better the circumstances likely to bring about genuine exergame exercise

Gamificação e cicloturismo sénior : design de uma app para a comunidade miOne

As the aging population continues to grow, there has been an increasing interest in the subject of gerontechnology. In the specific case of the digital game industry, senior citizens are becoming better consumers due to their purchasing power and free time, so it is important to focus on the role of games to their wellbeing and meet their needs and preferences. However, there is a general lack of information and products that address physical exercise in the interrelationship of cycling, tourism, games, gamification and senior citizens. The aim of this research is to understand the way gamification interventions can motivate senior citizens to adhere to cyclo-tourism. This dissertation reports on the use of the Development Research Method, deploying a broad array of methods, including focus groups, eye-tracking and interviews. A total of 46 participants (7 focus group participants, 8 participants in eye-tracking and 31 cyclists’ interviewees) were involved in this research. Based on the literature review, related work and the insights from each method, a cyclo-tourism digital app entitled Jizo was co-designed and prototyped. Findings indicate that certain gamification techniques and elements can trigger senior citizens’ motivations towards cyclo-tourism, being essential integrative parts of a digital app in this context. The elements highlighted were social relationships, progression, challenges, competition, feedback and rewards, having an important role in pre-, in loco and post- experience. These data support the view on gamification capability to motivate senior cyclo-tourism.Com o contínuo crescimento do envelhecimento da população, tem havido um interesse progressivo na área da gerontecnologia. No caso específico da indústria dos jogos digitais, os cidadãos seniores fazem parte de um grupo de consumidores com poder de compra e tempo livre, pelo que é essencial compreender o papel dos jogos digitais no seu bem-estar e atender às suas necessidades e preferências. No entanto, continua a prevalecer uma falta de informação e de produtos que abordam o exercício físico nas inter-relações entre o ciclismo, turismo, jogos, gamificação e cidadãos seniores. O objetivo desta investigação é compreender o uso de estratégias de gamificação para motivar os cidadãos seniores a aderirem ao cicloturismo. Esta dissertação reporta a utilização do Método de Investigação de Desenvolvimento, tendo como base os seguintes métodos: grupos de discussão, eye-tracking e entrevistas. Um total de 46 participantes (7 participantes de grupos de discussão, 8 participantes de eye-tracking e 31 ciclistas entrevistados) foram envolvidos nesta investigação. Após a revisão da literatura, trabalho relacionado, e os resultados obtidos de cada método, procedeu-se ao co-design e prototipagem uma app de cicloturismo designada Jizo. Os resultados indicam que certas técnicas e elementos da gamificação podem desencadear as motivações dos cidadãos seniores para o cicloturismo, além de serem partes essenciais e integrantes de um aplicativo deste contexto. Os elementos destacados foram as relações sociais, progressão, desafios, competição, feedback e recompensas, na medida em que eles têm um papel importante na pré, in loco e na pós-experiência. Estes dados suportam a ideia da capacidade da gamificação para motivar o cicloturismo sénior.Mestrado em Comunicação Multimédi

Motivational strategies and approaches for single and multi-player exergames: A social perspective

Background: Exergames have attracted the interest of academics, practitioners, and designers, in domains as diverse as health, human-computer interaction, psychology, and information technology. This is primarily because exergames can make the exercise experience more enjoyable and entertaining, and in turn, can increase exercise levels. Despite the many benefits of exergames, they suffer from retention problems. Thus, the objective of this article was to review theories and game elements that have been empirically examined or employed in an attempt to make exergames more motivating so people engage in sustained physical activity (duration of physical activity) in a repeating pattern over time (frequency of physical activity). Methodology: A literature search and narrative review were conducted. Results: Five major theories and elements were prevalent in the exergaming literature: (1) self-determination theory, (2) gamification, (3) competition and cooperation, (4) situational interest, and (5) social interaction. These theories and elements are important for encouraging long-term play and show promise for designing exergames to promote sustained engagement and motivate physical activity. We discuss their strengths and weaknesses throughout the paper. Conclusions: The long-term effectiveness of exergame interventions is unclear mainly because of the limited amount of long-term studies. Better metrics are also needed to evaluate this effectiveness. We also identified particular attention to social factors and group dynamics, such as multi-player exergames and more effective player matchmaking strategies for increasing social connectedness, as a key area of future research

Make Room for Video Games: Exergames and the "Ideal Woman".

This study, a textual analysis, examines the social and cultural construction of the ideal woman in the contemporary exergames ecology, during the years of 2006-2014. This time period has been called a “casual revolution,” where, beginning with the Nintendo Wii, casual video games have permeated our culture as a technology designed for everyone (Juul 2010). Exergames are a genre of casual games that are designed for the primary purpose of fitness and health. Today, video game culture is an exclusionary boy’s club, and studies have mainly focused on over displays of misogyny, overlooking more subtle displays. The following research questions are answered: How do contemporary, console-based exergames and related paratexts define what it means to be a woman in video game culture? What does this construction reveal about contemporary cultural ideals about women, technology, and domestic space? How does the socio-historical context inform this construction of womanhood? By examining exergames and related paratexts, including advertisements, game boxes, articles and reviews, this study found that exergames construct adult women through a complex and contradictory blend traditional and modern notions of womanhood. In particular, the ideal woman construct is a covert form of misogyny because it invites adult women to participate, but only a particular segment of women. This ultimately excludes the majority of women from gaming culture, narrowly defining who can and cannot participate. There are several reasons why this is the case. First, this is the result of the broader narratives in the misogynist, exclusionary gaming culture. In addition, this construct draws from traditional notions of gendered work and leisure within the home. Finally, this is a symptom of the socio-cultural context of the 2000s, in order to justify video games as a “good thing” for women and redress what the genre of video games has been blamed for in our culture.PhDCommunication StudiesUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111350/1/jglange_1.pd