Small-Scale Exertion in Sports Video Games

Sports video games should be inherently competitive, but they fall short in providing competition between player skills. The translation of real-world physical activities to a game controller and the emphasis on statistical simulations in traditional sports video games leads to a limited opportunity for expertise development, individual differentiation, and fatigue. These are three very important aspects of real-world sports that are lacking in sports video games. One possible solution to these difficulties is to use small-scale exertion. This method requires the design of an input mechanic that requires only the use of hands and fingers (or feet). We created two small-scale exertion sports video games (Track and Field Racing and Jelly Polo) and ran four studies to compare our small-scale exertion games to traditional rate-based sports video games. Qualitative and quantitative results suggest that using small-scale exertion increases the amount of expertise development, individual differentiation, and fatigue in sports video games. Results also suggest small-scale exertion controls are more engaging than traditional rate-based controls. By using small-scale exertion to add physicality into sports video games, we are able to increase richness, competitiveness, and realism in order to create a game which is competitive, in terms of player skill, and sport-like

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationHumans generally have difficulty performing precision tasks with their unsupported hands. To compensate for this difficulty, people often seek to support or rest their hand and arm on a fixed surface. However, when the precision task needs to be performed over a workspace larger than what can be reached from a fixed position, a fixed support is no longer useful. This dissertation describes the development of the Active Handrest, a device that expands its user's dexterous workspace by providing ergonomic support and precise repositioning motions over a large workspace. The prototype Active Handrest is a planar computer-controlled support for the user's hand and arm. The device can be controlled through force input from the user, position input from a grasped tool, or a combination of inputs. The control algorithm of the Active Handrest converts the input(s) into device motions through admittance control where the device's desired velocity is calculated proportionally to the input force or its equivalent. A robotic 2-axis admittance device was constructed as the initial Planar Active Handrest, or PAHR, prototype. Experiments were conducted to optimize the device's control input strategies. Large workspace shape tracing experiments were used to compare the PAHR to unsupported, fixed support, and passive moveable support conditions. The Active Handrest was found to reduce task error and provide better speedaccuracy performance. Next, virtual fixture strategies were explored for the device. From the options considered, a virtual spring fixture strategy was chosen based on its effectiveness. An experiment was conducted to compare the PAHR with its virtual fixture strategy to traditional virtual fixture techniques for a grasped stylus. Virtual fixtures implemented on the Active Handrest were found to be as effective as fixtures implemented on a grasped tool. Finally, a higher degree-of-freedom Enhanced Planar Active Handrest, or E-PAHR, was constructed to provide support for large workspace precision tasks while more closely following the planar motions of the human arm. Experiments were conducted to investigate appropriate control strategies and device utility. The E-PAHR was found to provide a skill level equal to that of the PAHR with reduced user force input and lower perceived exertion

Expanding exertion gaming

While exertion games - digital games where the outcome is determined by physical exertion - are of growing interest in HCI, we believe the current health and fitness focus in the research of exertion games limits the opportunities this field has to offer. In order to broaden the agenda on exertion games, we link the existing fields of sports and interactive entertainment (arguing these fields have much to offer) by presenting four of our own designs as case studies. Using our experiences with these designs we highlight three key strategies to guide designers in the creation of richer exertion game experiences: designing a temporal trajectory through games with reference to the way exertion changes over time, designing for the inevitable and not necessarily negative effects of pain in exertion games, and designing for the highly socially situated nature of exertion gaming

On performance and perceived effort in trail runners using sensor control to generate biosynchronous music

Music has been shown to be capable of improving runners’ performance in treadmill and laboratory-based experiments. This paper evaluates a generative music system, namely HEARTBEATS, designed to create biosignal synchronous music in real-time according to an individual athlete’s heartrate or cadence (steps per minute). The tempo, melody, and timbral features of the generated music are modulated according to biosensor input from each runner using a combination of PPG (Photoplethysmography) and GPS (Global Positioning System) from a wearable sensor, synchronized via Bluetooth. We compare the relative performance of athletes listening to music with heartrate and cadence synchronous tempos, across a randomized trial (N = 54) on a trail course with 76 ft of elevation. Participants were instructed to continue until their self-reported perceived effort went beyond an 18 using the Borg rating of perceived exertion. We found that cadence-synchronous music improved performance and decreased perceived effort in male runners. For female runners, cadence synchronous music improved performance but it was heartrate synchronous music which significantly reduced perceived effort and allowed them to run the longest of all groups tested. This work has implications for the future design and implementation of novel portable music systems and in music-assisted coaching

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 359)

This bibliography lists 164 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during Jan. 1992. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and physiology, life support systems and man/system technology, protective clothing, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, planetary biology, and flight crew behavior and performance

Cardiovascular Effects and Enjoyment of Exer-Gaming in Older Adults

Background: A physically active lifestyle provides a variety of health benefits. However, physical activity may decline with age. Currently, there are 40 million older adults, representing 13.1% of the population in the United States. National surveys report that only 30% of older adults perform adequate amounts of physical activity. The lack of daily physical activity (PA) can lead to an increased risk of chronic disease. Exer-gaming (EG) has been successful in increasing PA in children and young adults in a fun and enjoyable manner, but the use of EG with older adults has not been well studied. Purpose: To quantify the cardiovascular responses, the enjoyment, and the untoward physical discomforts to a 15 minute trial of EG (Nintendo Wii Tennis) in healthy, older adults. Methods: A quasi-experimental design using a convenience sample of 34 self-reported healthy older adults from an independent living retirement community in Southeastern Pennsylvania completed the study. Serial measurements of heart rate, blood pressures (systolic, diastolic, and mean), rate-pressure product, and perceived exertion were taken at 5 minute intervals beginning at rest, standing, playing Wii tennis and post play recovery. Enjoyment was measured post Wii play and a 48 hour post questionnaire was provided. Analysis of the data included the use of descriptive statistics and general linear modeling of repeated measures. Results: 15 minutes of exercise gaming (Nintendo Wii Tennis), moderately increased heart rate (p\u3c0.001), blood pressures (p\u3c0.001) and perceived exertion (p\u3c0.0001) compared to rest. This level of activity corresponded to an age predicted maximum heart rate range of 64%. No differences in cardiovascular variables occurred between genders. Beta-blockade suppressed the heart rate and rate pressure product. All subjects completed EG tennis without reporting fatigue with 86% enjoying the experience with few physical discomforts and arrhythmias. Conclusions: Nintendo Wii EG technology (tennis) induces a moderate intensity cardiovascular stress in an overall enjoyable manner among health, older adults

Monitoring wellness, training load and neuromuscular performance: Implications for assessing athlete training status

Background: Athletes training for peak performance have periods of systematic overload followed by recovery. The balance between overload and recovery is important to avoid unexpected fatigue or underperformance. The relationship between overload and recovery is unique for each athlete. Thus, programmes designed to monitor fitness and fatigue should consider the inter-athlete differences. Aim: The broad aim of the PhD thesis was to assess the relationships between various tools for monitoring fitness and fatigue in elite level athletes. Subjective and objective training/match demands, questionnaires to assess wellness and readiness-to-train as well as countermovement jump variables to assess neuromuscular performance were investigated within 4 inter-related studies. Methods: Four inter-related studies were designed to determine; 1) the validity and reliability of countermovement jump variables measured on a force plate in the laboratory; 2) the relationships between countermovement jump variables, responses to a wellness and readinessto-train questionnaire and exercise-induced fatigue in the laboratory; 3) the relationships between training load, responses to a wellness and readiness-to-train questionnaire and neuromuscular performance in elite level female field hockey athletes measured in a “realworld” situation, and 4) the relationships between these same variables for each athlete and whole team before, during and after international match play. Primary findings: The findings for each inter-related study were as follows; 1) Maximum force, rate of force development, jump height, flight time and time to maximum force, as measured on a force plate during a countermovement jump were valid and reliable. The typical error of measurement was defined for each variable. The validity and reliability were best in participants who had more strength training experience. In most cases the precision of the variables was sufficient to detect “small” changes. 2) Subjective measures (wellness questionnaire) were more sensitive to acute exercise-induced fatigue compared to objective measures of neuromuscular performance; 3) The relationship between variables differed between players. Multiple variables should be collected to better understand a player's subjective and objective fitness and fatigue status in response to subjective and objective measures of match and/or training demands; 4) Pre, intra and post-match related data should be collected to better understand individual player responses between matches. Variables such as jump height, rating of perceived exertion, total distance during the match, bodyload (a derived measure of the total external mechanical stress from accelerations, decelerations and change of direction) and subjective wellness should be considered when monitoring athlete training status. Conclusions: Firstly, there is no set standard battery of tools that can be used to monitor fitness and fatigue of athletes as the relationship between variables is not consistent between athletes. Variables such as jump height, rating of perceived exertion, total distance, bodyload and wellness responses should be considered in a monitoring system. Secondly, this thesis proposes the novel concept of “monitoring specificity”. This suggests that different tools, based on their responsiveness, should be used at an individual level. Thirdly, identifying which athletes are most sensitive to certain variables will reduce the “noise” within a team's monitoring system. This will enable better informed decisions to be made about the athlete's fitness/fatigue status

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 313)

This bibliography lists 227 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in July, 1988

An investigation into alternative human-computer interaction in relation to ergonomics for gesture interface design

Recent, innovative developments in the field of gesture interfaces as input techniques have the potential to provide a basic, lower-cost, point-and-click function for graphic user interfaces (GUIs). Since these gesture interfaces are not yet widely used, indeed no tilt-based gesture interface is currently on the market, there is neither an international standard for the testing procedure nor a guideline for their ergonomic design and development. Hence, the research area demands more design case studies on a practical basis. The purpose of the research is to investigate the design factors of gesture interfaces for the point-andclick task in the desktop computer environment. The key function of gesture interfaces is to transfer the specific body movement into the cursor movement on the two-dimensional graphical user interface(2D GUI) on a real-time basis, based in particular on the arm movement. The initial literature review identified limitations related to the cursor movement behaviour with gesture interfaces. Since the cursor movement is the machine output of the gesture interfaces that need to be designed, a new accuracy measure based on the calculation of the cursor movement distance and an associated model was then proposed in order to validate the continuous cursor movement. Furthermore, a design guideline with detailed design requirements and specifications for the tilt-based gesture interfaces was suggested. In order to collect the human performance data and the cursor movement distance, a graphical measurement platform was designed and validated with the ordinary mouse. Since there are typically two types of gesture interface, i.e. the sweep-based and the tilt-based, and no commercial tilt-based gesture interface has yet been developed, a commercial sweep-based gesture interface, namely the P5 Glove, was studied and the causes and effects of the discrete cursor movement on the usability was investigated. According to the proposed design guideline, two versions of the tilt-based gesture 3 interface were designed and validated based on an iterative design process. Most of the phenomena and results from the trials undertaken, which are inter-related, were analyzed and discussed. The research has contributed new knowledge through design improvement of tilt-based gesture interfaces and the improvement of the discrete cursor movement by elimination of the manual error compensation. This research reveals that there is a relation between the cursor movement behaviour and the adjusted R 2 for the prediction of the movement time across models expanded from Fitts’ Law. In such a situation, the actual working area and the joint ranges are lengthy and appreciably different from those that had been planned. Further studies are suggested. The research was associated with the University Alliance Scheme technically supported by Freescale Semiconductor Co., U.S