Health Moves on iOS

In the ever-crowded arena of physical activity tracking devices and apps, Apple recently released Moves and to my surprise is pretty efficient app both interface, usability, and battery consumption wise. (Moves FAQ on iTUNES)

Simply put, enable the Location feature and this turns on the GPS to locate where you are and thus if you move quickly via car, the GPS will kick in and record it as "transport" time. As I'm typing this blog piece, I believe the accelerometer is detecting my steps b/c the green icon pulses whenever I take a step. The user guide says that whenever the GPS detects very little variations in your location, it cycles down (but I can't be sure of that). Overall battery life is about the same if you have "Location" services enabled already on your device.

Although there is no game function yet, MOVES seems to be the most fluid and intuitive of the other tracking apps I've used and if they open up the API to allow game and app developers - we could really see some nicely integrated games and activities. Of course with some simple tweaking adding simple gamification features like leaderboards, achievememts and challenges, we could see a real competitor to RunKeeper, MapMyRun, and all the other fitness apps.

Stay Active and Be Well!      [Via MakeUseOf, Moves website]

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Pony Panic: Potential #Exergame

As the many naysayers continue to hammer the President's Council recent backing of# exergaming as a source of physical activity (see tweets below), its important to remember that its always in the way that you use these tools to achieve your intended outcomes.  At last year's GFH Europe Game Jam - this group pulled 50 hours together to create Pony Panic a game that is played on 2 laptops / computers where the two players are racing their ponies against each other. Once your ponies hit a time-warp / worm hole, you have to run to the other computer to complete the race. The further the distance = the more activity you get. Imagine all the obstacles and other ways you could set this game up (push-ups, jumping jacks, burpees...). It's in the way that you use it!

PCFSN Exec Dir Shellie Pfohl quoted about benefits of active screen time through #VideoGames in the Washington Post: wapo.st/JsM7VK
— President's Council (@FitnessGov) May 16, 2012

How can you send a message that is more wrong! Government backs exergaming washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/well…
— Dr Boris Gojanovic (@DrSportSante) May 22, 2012

Active Gaming is Not a Substitute for Kids Getting Exercise bit.ly/yhtReM
— Valda _Hinahon (@Valda_Hinahon) May 22, 2012

Audience Award at the Games 4 Health Game Jam 2011! The game was also showcased at the Games for Health Conference in Amsterdam!
http://www.ragesquid.com 
http://www.facebook.com/RageSquid


Click here to explore more of ExerGame Lab's archived posts involving concepts.

Virtual Relay Exergame

This concept of a connected and social physical experience mediated by technology certainly has lots of exergame potential especially if they end up building in ARG, leader-boards, and game elements.

Virtual relay - DesignBlizzard

How it works
The V.relay is a baton for virtual relays. By connecting and joining to a community website, you could search for relays of your interest, the time you want to start, the team you want to join.
The baton receives the data from the computer and gives a signal when it's time for your turn to run in the team. The GPS signal lets the relay continue on virtually all around the world. And also gives you feedback of the distance/time/heartbeat rate/runners left during your run.
The main aspect or the V.relay is to give people more motivation for exercise by making them feel connected.

Breath of Fresh Asthmapolis: GPS Inhalers

Dr. Sickle's previous work involved studying asthma and chronic respiratory disease in India but in developing Asthmaoplis he and his team are seeking to better track the environmental factors and triggers to asthma attacks.  His goal is to map where and when environmental exposures trigger asthma symptoms by using inhalers that have a built-in GPS device that signals the central server whenever the puffer is used.  Of course they will also have access to other sets of data including pollutants, pollen, wind direction which will enable them to better track factors impacting lung disease and overall air quality.

[Via Geekosystem - Better Lives for Asthma Sufferers With GPS Inhalers]

What is Asthmapolis? from Asthmapolis on Vimeo.


ExerGame Potential

1. By having realtime data on potential "red" or "danger" zones, players can use the GPS to find alternate routes to their destination. Although, after writing that, I realize the potential to send people to not-so desirable areas. Wait a minute.... GPS units already do that.
2. I could easily see an adapted mobile-motion-gaming title similar to Outbreak! Zombie (location-based RPG). 
3. Maybe the game could tie into the transit system in case the air quality is so poor and then gamers can play the alternate-reality game (ARG) Chromaroma - as featured here earlier.

Via Droid Life

Click here to find more stories about potential exergames

Click here to find more stories about Wouldn't It Be Cool (WIBC) features

Novint's Ultimate FPS Motion Gaming Rig

Novint just revealed its yet to be named dream product mash-up "Self contained, Virtual Reality, Gaming and Training System."  Looking at Tom Anderson (tomlucient Novint's CEO) demo the setup, I can't help but think that all of these products have been featured here (ExerGame Lab) over the past 3 years. I can see the comments and discussion boards already lighting up with excitement and anticipation for its commercialization. Get ready to really feel like to "Be in the game!"

+  +

http://www.exergamelab.org/2008/12/tn-games-vest.html

http://www.exergamelab.org/2010/06/forcetek-xio-force-feedback-game.html

http://www.exergamelab.org/2008/06/novint-falcon-experience-games-in-3d.html



."

Kinect Tesla Coil for Ultimate Evil Effects

Image via Wikipedia

Now if we can make a game out of this perhaps adding in some Star Wars Force Unleashed and some simple game elements. Wow. Maybe throw in the VirtuSphere with the Tesla Coils in the background, now that's immersive.

ForceTek XIO: Force-Feedback Game Controller Exoskeleton

ForceTek XIO: the gaming controller that hurts you, not the TV (video): "

Forget the Wiimote, PlayStation Move and Kinect; here's a controller that actually makes you feel like you're in the game. At E3 earlier this week, startup firm ForceTek showed off its XIO (pronounced zee-o) Virtual Gaming System. The force-feedback arm exoskeleton 'provides a controlled resistance' to your arm and wrist movement. ForceTek eventually wants to build full exoskeletons (shoulder, back, lower body) to play games.

 Built to be a multiplatform game controller with tiny servo motors, one of their main claims is that it "helps reinforce the correct muscle pattern for the activity being simulated.". This is an important concept to remember in any motor skill, that being a correctly repeated movement helps to promote.  To be precise, there really is no such thing as "muscle-memory" as the muscle itself does not "remember" contractions/patterns; rather, the motor unit of the CNS "learns" sensorimotor skills. May the Force Be With You!

[Via Engadget DVICE | SeriouslyE3 (YouTube), Awesome Game Blog]

Over 10 years in development and several patents, XIO™ (pronounced ZEE-O) is scheduled to be debuted at the 2010 E3 show June 15th-17th in Los Angeles, California. The XIO™ Virtual Gaming System could dramatically shake up the video console industry, a landscape dominated by Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, with the introduction of a system that requires no console and puts the player closer to reality than ever before.

XIO™ uses advanced exoskeleton technology used in the sports training and physical rehabilitation fields to provide the player with different responses based on the player’s body position, speed of movement, and other sensed data. In addition to audio and visual responses, XIO™ provides a controlled resistance to movement and other stimuli to provide realism to the action. This not only lets players feel as if they are actually performing the function, but also helps reinforce the correct muscle pattern for the activity being simulated. 

XIO™ devices now available for one or both arms are expected to be subsequently combined with shoulder, back and lower body attachments to add to the virtual experience. The use of an optional onboard computer and XIO™ headgear will allow the system to become totally self-contained on the user for inside or outside multiple player use. 

Although XIO™ is being demonstrated at E3 using certain existing video game software, to take advantage of all of the capabilities of XIO™, the system is expected to be released to the public with video games specifically developed for XIO™. Consumers can now go online at www.forcetekusa.com/xio to become one of a select group given an opportunity to purchase the XIO Virtual Gaming System prior to full release.

Nike Music Shoes: Music to My Body & Soul!

Great Balls of Fire! This group of Japanese artists have taken musical expression and creation to a level that I can relate to, especially because it involves movement (Exergame Potential).  Much like the massive MIDI controller featured earlier, Daito Manabe, Tomoaki Yanagisawa W+K Tokyo and others (4nchor5,rhizomatiks) took the Nike Free Run+ shoes and added flexible Arduino micro-controllers (which change the resistance when bent) to the shoes which triggered sounds hooked to a DJ mixer and controlled by sound effects processor  Max/MSP and Ableton Max for Live. Jump to the Rhythm, Jump, Jump! [Via CreativeApplications.Net and Engadget]

Multitoe or MultiToeTapping ExerGame (Concept)

Does having a Virtual Hot Spot on the bottom of your shoe sound enticing enough for you to do some computer interaction like typing, playing a FPS using your feet and tilting your head...well the Multitoe concept from from the HCI lab at the Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany might be the place to find the next great exergame. (Via Engagdet)

We propose direct touch surfaces that are orders of magnitude larger than tabletops by integrating high-resolution multi-touch sensing into back-projected floors.

The key factor of the shown design is that it is based on frustrated total internal reflection sensing. FTIR allows it to identify and track users based on their sole patterns. The floor recognizes foot postures, distinguishes users who interact from people walking by, and enables high-precision interaction. In addition, the floor can approximate users' head positions based on the pressure profile in the soles and it extracts enough details from soles to allow users to play first person shooters by balancing their feet.

The shown work is a research project by Caroline Fetzer, Thomas Augsten, Konstantin Kaefer, Dorian Kanitz, Rene Meusel, and Thomas Stoff in the Human Computer Interaction Lab of Prof. Patrick Baudisch at Hasso Plattner Institute, Germany

It's In The Shoes!

A new add for a pair of Nike Total 90 Laser 3 soccer "football" cleats has taken a great idea and made it into a potential Soccer ExerGame.

We have seen similar large scale projects from Floyd's Exertion Interfaces, and the Football Hero project featured previously, but this one might make it commercially or at least in some playground (training) facilities.  Of course the matter-pulverizing lasers is a little over the top, but I would think a series of lasers as projected in the commercial is totally plausible.

Radio Active will keep you and your tunes movin’

Erez Bar Am, an Industrial Design graduate from Shenkar College for Engineering and Design, Israel, conceived the “Radio Active” and I think it’s a neat way to get us up off the couch. According to the description, its an analog radio which requires you to physically move its strings in order to turn up the volume or change the station.

Wouldn’t It Be Cool (WIBC) to have solo, dual, group and even competitions of radio tuners.  Imagine people tuning music and not just radio signals to put a song together or to even a musical throw-down competition.  I’ve been playing with a few music apps on my IPod that allow you to put tracks together by throwing down, looping and sound efx. Check out GrooveMaker or Computer Music.

View Full Album

[Via The Design Blog]

Mexican Mantis Moving Youth

Getting our youngsters to move more is a major mission for most countries.  Mexian Industrial designer Isabel Rico Avila (btw - I love www.Coroflot.com for inspirational designers) shows off her Mantis bike concept by positioning the rider in a forward leaning position while the hands control a two-wheeled front steering mechanism. Given the skyrocketing rates of youth  overweight and sedentarism, we need to find new activities and solutions that are enjoyable and can be supported in multiple environments.  Let's get a Gamercize unit on this baby and now we have a whole new way to play whatever game we want.  Time for a little praying mantis action;)

[Via The Design Blog]

Browser Pong...ExerGame Idea

A new post caught my eye for the possibility of a new exergame using existing technology that works already really well for web-based games (e.g. Pop Cap Games)....FootGaming.   FootGaming  is Judy Shasek's incredible invention and system for increasing physical activity at home, in schools, and in the community (workplace & recreation).  It is very versatile and works with the hundreds of PopCap Games or any other browser-based game like those available at Playnormous (featured by one of my students)

Browser Pong is a simple
flash browser-based game that uses tiny windows (non-maximized) to create the Pong paddles and ball.

WIBC - Wouldn't It Be Cool to get a FootGaming controller and hook it up to your browser to play Browser Pong.  Although not that much of a stretch - it gives people more games to play (get up and move) within a minimalistic set-up.

I was thrilled to have met Judy last year at the Games For Health Exergame Summit in Maine. I've always been blown away by her vision and to hear more stories and strategies she's used was inspiring.  Be sure to find more options and lesson plans at www.Footgaming.com

Step a Little More My Friends, That's All It Takes. Shalom





[Via Kotaku]