Into the Unown : Improving location-based gamified crowdsourcing solutions for geo data gathering

Crowdsourcing has been recently successfully used to gather rich geo data in location-based games such as Pokémon GO. However, the academic literature has demonstrated that the selected crowdsourcing practices have led to the reinforcement of existing geographic biases, favouring rich areas and urban neighbourhoods over poor and rural areas. In this work, we investigate through two studies whether these biases could be mitigated by improving the crowdsourcing platform (Study 1) and supporting the crowdsourcing tasks with open map resources (Study 2). As an outcome of the first study, we derived 15 recommendations across six thematic areas for optimising the crowdsourcing processes. In the follow-up study, we demonstrated with a proof-of-concept work the potential to computationally improve the point of interest coverage particularly in developing countries and rural areas, and highlighted the potential of utilising open map services to build decision support systems for assisting in the evaluation of the crowdsourced content.Peer reviewe

Virtually (re)constructed reality: the representation of physical space in commercial location-based games

Location-based games (LBGs) are based on digital representations of our surroundings and the spaces we inhabit. These digital twins of the real world, real world metaverses, are subsequently augmented by imaginary game content. However, the virtual reconstruction of the world inevitably emphasises some aspects of reality and disregards others. In this work we explore and discuss the elements of reality that are included, and omitted, in popular commercial LBGs. We focus on eight popular contemporary LBGs from five different developers and investigate their connections to the real world. Subsequently, we compare the identified real world features of the LBGs to the landscape dimensions of the widely adopted Landscape Character Assessment framework. The findings show that settlement, hydrology, climate and land cover are the most commonly incorporated landscape dimensions, albeit in low fidelity. By contrast, dimensions, such as geology, soils and enclosure were not represented in the observed LBGs. In addition, we discovered several anthropogenic and cultural aspects, such as land ownership and time depth that are implicitly included in some commercial LBGs, notably in the Niantic Wayfarer system providing unique high-fidelity data of cultural and historical locations. Overall, we find only little variance within landscape dimensions between the observed commercial LBGs. Our findings open discussions on choices regarding the virtual representation of the real world in systems, such as LBGs, navigational software and a reality-based metaverse

Educational Automatic Question Generation Improves Reading Comprehension in Non-native Speakers: A Learner-Centric Case Study

Background: Asking learners manually authored questions about their readings improves their text comprehension. Yet, not all reading materials comprise sufficiently many questions and many informal reading materials do not contain any. Therefore, automatic question generation has great potential in education as it may alleviate the lack of questions. However, currently, there is insufficient evidence on whether or not those automatically generated questions are beneficial for learners' understanding in reading comprehension scenarios. Objectives: We investigate the positive and negative effects of automatically generated short-answer questions on learning outcomes in a reading comprehension scenario. Methods: A learner-centric, in between-groups, quasi-experimental reading comprehension case study with 48 college students is conducted. We test two hypotheses concerning positive and negative effects on learning outcomes during the text comprehension of science texts and descriptively explore how the generated questions influenced learners. Results: The results show a positive effect of the generated questions on the participants learning outcomes. However, we cannot entirely exclude question-induced adverse side effects on learning of non-questioned information. Interestingly, questions identified as computer-generated by learners nevertheless seemed to benefit their understanding. Take Away: Automatic question generation positively impacts reading comprehension in the given scenario. In the reported case study, even questions recognized as computer-generated supported reading comprehension

Growing up in urban school environments

In 1977 Kevin Lynch presented the results of his famous “Growing Up in Cities” study on children’s use and perception of spatial environments in cities around the globe. The main aim was to inform planning policies with a better understanding of how the built environment impacts children’s behaviour, which could lead to urban quality improvements from children’s point of view. The authors emphasised that the value of children’s participation should not be neglected and pointed towards the untapped potential in the way they observe the city from a different perspective. After four decades, the project’s research questions and findings of Lynch’s work remain very relevant – both for architects and urban designers, as for the young users. This is specially the case for urban schools as important “settings” (fields of action), in which the children are spending an increasing amount of time. Already in the 1970s, Lynch stressed that children had less time for free activities and that their daily lives were fully programmed by school, and TV at home. Nowadays, as the majority of school systems turn to the full-time model, the majority of children’s time is spent with daily learning and extra-curricular activities, as well as using digital devices during leisure time. A growing body of international research underlines how school design influences students’ learning progress, social interaction, physical and cognitive development. However, less attention has been paid to the questions of a) how we can design more livability, physical activity, and mental well-being into school environments, and b) how can children play a more vital role in the process. To address these issues, the research team of TU Darmstadt developed a toolbox, which makes children the direct observers of their surrounding environment and is encouraged to express their opinions. It is inspired by Lynch’s work and includes three main techniques from his research: individual/group interviews with the children, taking photographs and analysing them, and the collaborative creation of spatial mental maps. The toolbox, however, integrates a new generation of digitally- supported surveys, mapping, and co-design tools to further explore how students can be encouraged in co-creating their learning spaces and bringing forward their expectations and needs

Virtually (re)constructed reality : The representation of physical space in commercial location-based games

Location-based games (LBGs) are based on digital representations of our surroundings and the spaces we inhabit. These digital twins of the real world, real world metaverses, are subsequently augmented by imaginary game content. However, the virtual reconstruction of the world inevitably emphasises some aspects of reality and disregards others. In this work we explore and discuss the elements of reality that are included, and omitted, in popular commercial LBGs. We focus on eight popular contemporary LBGs from five different developers and investigate their connections to the real world. Subsequently, we compare the identified real world features of the LBGs to the landscape dimensions of the widely adopted Landscape Character Assessment framework. The findings show that settlement, hydrology, climate and land cover are the most commonly incorporated landscape dimensions, albeit in low fidelity. By contrast, dimensions, such as geology, soils and enclosure were not represented in the observed LBGs. In addition, we discovered several anthropogenic and cultural aspects, such as land ownership and time depth that are implicitly included in some commercial LBGs, notably in the Niantic Wayfarer system providing unique high-fidelity data of cultural and historical locations. Overall, we find only little variance within landscape dimensions between the observed commercial LBGs. Our findings open discussions on choices regarding the virtual representation of the real world in systems, such as LBGs, navigational software and a reality-based metaverse.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Predicting functional performance via classification of lower extremity strength in older adults with exergame-collected data

Objective: The goal of this article is to present and to evaluate a sensor-based functional performance monitoring system. The system consists of an array of Wii Balance Boards (WBB) and an exergame that estimates whether the player can maintain physical independence, comparing the results with the 30 s Chair-Stand Test (30CST). Methods: Sixteen participants recruited at a nursing home performed the 30CST and then played the exergame described here as often as desired during a period of 2 weeks. For each session, features related to walking and standing on the WBBs while playing the exergame were collected. Different classifier algorithms were used to predict the result of the 30CST on a binary basis as able or unable to maintain physical independence. Results: By using a Logistic Model Tree, we achieved a maximum accuracy of 91% when estimating whether player’s 30CST scores were over or under a threshold of 12 points, our findings suggest that predicting age- and sex-adjusted cutoff scores is feasible. Conclusion: An array of WBBs seems to be a viable solution to estimate lower extremity strength and thereby functional performance in a non-invasive and continuous manner. This study provides proof of concept supporting the use of exergames to identify and monitor elderly subjects at risk of losing physical independence

Recent advances in rehabilitation for Parkinson’s Disease with Exergames: A Systematic Review

Objective: The goal of this contribution is to gather and to critically analyze recent evidence regarding the potential of exergaming for Parkinson’s disease (PD) rehabilitation and to provide an up-to-date analysis of the current state of studies on exergame-based therapy in PD patients. Methods: We performed our search based on the conclusions of a previous systematic review published in 2014. Inclusion criteria were articles published in the indexed databases Pubmed, Scopus, Sciencedirect, IEEE and Cochrane published since January 1, 2014. Exclusion criteria were papers with a target group other than PD patients exclusively, or contributions not based on exergames. Sixty-four publications out of 525 matches were selected. Results: The analysis of the 64 selected publications confirmed the putative improvement in motor skills suggested by the results of the previous review. The reliability and safety of both Microsoft Kinect and Wii Balance Board in the proposed scenarios was further confirmed by several recent studies. Clinical trials present better (n = 5) or similar (n = 3) results than control groups (traditional rehabilitation or regular exercise) in motor (TUG, BBS) and cognitive (attention, alertness, working memory, executive function), thus emphasizing the potential of exergames in PD. Pilot studies (n = 11) stated the safety and feasibility of both Microsoft Kinect and Wii Balance Board, potentially in home scenarios as well. Technical papers (n = 30) stated the reliability of balance and gait data captured by both devices. Related metaanalyses and systematic reviews (n = 15) further support these statements, generally citing the need for adaptation to patient’s skills and new input devices and sensors as identified gaps. Conclusion: Recent evidence indicates exergame-based therapy has been widely proven to be feasible, safe, and at least as effective as traditional PD rehabilitation. Further insight into new sensors, best practices and different cognitive stadiums of PD (such as PD with Mild Cognitive Impairment), as well as task specificity, are required. Also, studies linking game parameters and results with traditional assessment methods, such as UPDRS scores, are required. Outcomes for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) should be standardized, and follow-up studies are required, particularly for motor outcomes

Online Content Generation in Mobile Applications - Adaptation and Personalization for Location-based Game Systems

Location-aware mobile applications like navigation services or fitness trackers are inherently incorporated into our everyday life. The success of Ingress and Pokémon GO popularized the genre of location-based games, even indicating positive health effects for avid players that voluntarily cover large distances. However, the inconsistent and area-dependent supply of playable content, combined with superficial cooperation mechanisms, pose a considerable challenge for novel games in this genre. Furthermore, a suitable content generation based on real-world location data is complicated by the heterogeneity of populated areas. Continuously, in these movement-based games an inflexible mobility integration penalizes players deviating from the game’s intended style of play. Online procedural content generation, which creates content during run-time, is well suited for such scenarios. In numerous application domains, online content generation is utilized based on individual scenario parameters and contextual user data, providing personalized outcomes. But the optimization of content availability based on real-world location data, combined with a dynamic online generation, remains an open research challenge. In this thesis, we design and implement automatic location-based content generation mechanisms as our first contribution, which address the aforementioned challenge. We develop an approach to identify suitable content locations and procedurally derive game areas. Consequently, we enable cooperation concepts by game area coupling, providing distinct game areas with similar urban characteristics, even in heterogeneous areas. Since movement is the main characteristic of such games, we propose a mobility personalization strategy as our second contribution. This incorporates a player routing approach in urban scenarios focusing on guided virtual reward optimization. On this basis, we develop a run-time mobility detection utilizing accumulated smartphone sensor data as our third contribution. To support this decision-making process, we employ a combination of accelerometer and location sensor readings to overcome the limitations of individual data sources for specific mobility types. Finally, based on our developed GeoVis prototype, we conduct an extensive evaluation of our contributions. Therefore, we assess the effectiveness of our content approach under varying ambient conditions. We show that our location-based content generation leads to a reliable and flexible content selection in inhabited regions. Additionally, we demonstrate the utilization of route planning and automatic mobility detection as suitable mobility personalization strategies. In summary, we show that our contributions allow novel location-based game systems to create content worldwide and adapt to application-specific area and mobility characteristics by examining user mobility data during run-time

Match Our Cities: Cross-Location-Based Games to Enable Simultaneous Multiplayer

Location-based games have become a worldwide phenomenon, but their multiplayer options typically are either superficial or force players to play together only locally. We introduce a system that compares game areas around the globe and matches points of interest onto each other, allowing for simultaneous gameplay across city or country borders. Thereby, we achieve game areas with an equal representation of their point of interest structure, allowing for fair and equal starting conditions. Our approach procedurally generates content based on factors such as spatial relation and cultural relevance for multiple players. Each generated game area can be adapted in size, orientation, and cultural location selection criteria to provide a level playing field for players with different mobility patterns or areas with different sociocultural conditions. The content creation process utilized publicly available OpenStreetMap data and achieves comparable results of high quality even in suburban or rural areas, where a lower content density in today's location-based games is found