Urban Defender Conquers City

What have you done in the past 12 days?  Well this group in Zurich at the Zurich University of Arts, Departement of Interaction Design, created the Urban Defender as part of the Embodied Interaction Advanced HS 2009 in just 12 days.  The team members (Karmen Franinovic, Max Rheiner, Dondup Shelkar, Philipp Läubli, & Nino Cometti) lay out in great detail how they conceptualized the game, interaction, and physical components.  The goal of the game is simple: "try to conquer as many quarters as possible, reinforce these quarters and defend them against other players."

In the concept video (below), I like how the computer interface changes as the players race around the playing area and tag their zones.  It's quite possibly one of the first physically interactive, ubiquitous computing, applications  I've seen.  We have seen many mobile-based ubiquitous computing applications, but most of those have been location based and location recognition.  Using a ball to interact with the physical environment in a public space is pure brilliance.  In some ways it reminds me of the Japanese group that created Shoot-ball (anyone remember that?)  I would love to try this one out on our campus or in town.  Anyone up for a little UD?

And here is the rest of it.

WiFi Body Scale: Simplicity in Monitoring & Design

I am all for keeping things simple - KISS principle and that definitely applies to human theory and behavior around health. The WiFi Body Scale looks to be a promising device that will provide consistent information about specific health indicators that may help keep people healthier. Using a WiFi signal to pass your private information on to a secure website, this souped-up scale also packs a bioelectrical impedance device that measures a person's "body-fat percent or ratio of fat-mass to fat-free mass. Packaging an iPhone app (read ubiquitous) on top of that makes this device that much more elegant in its design and implementation.

[Via Withings]

Check out after the break for more photos.

Motion X GPS on iPhone: Warp Speed…Engage.

Taking to the slopes of your favorite mountains can now be even more informative with the Motion X GPS app for iPhone.  This is not the first time we’ve seen GPS apps and mobile solutions for the Black Diamond thirsty/Couloir-seeking/Out-of-Bounds thrill seekers. Be sure to also check out the Mogi, Item Hunt GPS mobile game from Japan.

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[Gizmodo, Mogi, Item Hunt]

Psyched About Zyked

Another great speaker from May's Games For Health Conference in Baltimore was Tom Söderlund with his Alpha version of Zyked. In its current version (internet and mobile service) it aims "to make sports and exercising more fun by adding gameplay and community features." I really think this area of "exergaming" will see the most growth in the near future as it requires less equipment and technology than any exergaming/interactive fitness/video game exercise gaming system.



Other ubiquitous computing platforms and applications have been spotted around the world, but most prominently in Mad 3G connected Scandanavia (Exergame -VTT, Positive Gaming - iDance, etc...
To find other Exergame Lab articles featured ubiquitous computing applications click here!

Another well known exergame is the combo Tamagotchi-like Fizzes project from the UK 's FutureLab - although there isn't a strong tie to ubiquitous computing the goal is to keep your virtual pet by staying active. With the number of games and platforms like this - in 2009 we will undoubtedly see at least another 5-10 similar products like the earlier featured:ME2, Jinsei Game Puchi (AKA - Game of Life) Pedometer, "Sportio - au Smart Sports Run & Walk, and miCoach.
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miCoach is miPhone

Samsung's fittest addition to the mobile market is a slider device that not only has integrated fitness software on board, but also comes with a heart rate monitor and stride sensor (pedometer?). The miCoach was produced in conjunction with Adidas. Before going for a run with the F110 miCoach

..."Attach the heart rate monitor to your chest and stride sensor to your running shoe laces, and the phone will connect and register with them automatically. You can view your heart rate and other details onscreen in neat graphics while you're running."

I'm hoping this phone has some of the ubiquitous computing options especially with GPS and social networking capabilities like some other recent mobile devices featured earlier (au Smart Sports, Flaik, Bones in Motion, Loopt, Motion Based, PerDiemco, RealPlay, MobiPad, WiiRider, WayFinder Active ). I hope it is easy to wash and is somewhat water resistant especially if it's going to be worn while running.

[Via Picture House]

Jinsei Game Puchi (AKA - Game of Life) Pedometer

Living, getting a job, buying a house and having kids are all part of life. Like the board game, Game of Life, the quest is simple...live. However, to be able to do the simple and difficult things in life you must take 300 steps. Ingenious yet simple, the integration of a game built into accumulating more steps is a coup especially given that the Japanese government is currently measuring waist circumferences and battling 'metabo".
[Via Gizmodo and Trends in Japan]

"Metabo" cure? Sportio - au Smart Sports Run & Walk

Japanese owned KDDI CORPORATION is releasing the Sportio phone which is linked to their online social network called au Smart Sports Run & Walk. Using your mobile service and probably GPS tracking, you can track how far you walk/run/bike how fast you go and even how many calories (estimated) you burn.
Given the recent news that the Japanese Health Ministry has set waist size limits for all its citizens and is in the process of measuring...this product seems like it's posed to be picked up my thousands if not millions of people trying to cut a couple of inches.

Flaik - Tracking your slope stats

Instead of going for a run or hike and sharing those details with your friends, Flaik uses its GPS armband that links to your mobile device to send the data to your Flaik profile. You and your team can share run-by-run or overall details like times (vertical, speed, distance). With the Flaik GPS application you also get to see where your friends are located (earlier post), conditions at your favorite couloir, what equipment you're wearing and lots more.
[Via DVICE & Flaik]

GPS - "Somebody's watching me"

Tracking your movements either in small spaces or outdoors has become a lot easier in the past few years as microprocessors, accelerometers, GIS, GPS, and a variety of other sensors have become a lot more affordable. Most of the new smartphones (Blackberry's, iPhones) and many of the newer advanced mobile phones come with GPS pre-installed and the word on the street is that Garmin (GPS company) will be coming out with a phone. With the ability to track one's movements using one of the mapping mashups (Google, Yahoo, Microsoft) comes the capabilities to see where your friends are located at any given moment (if their mobile device is activated and subscribed to one of the many social networking sites (Bones in Motion, Loopt - WDC 2008, Motion Based, PerDiemco or featured in an earlier post). Yes it is Big Brotherish. So if you don’t want to be found…

DDR Mobile...seriously

We know that DDR has shown to be one of the better exergames for eliciting moderate to vigorous physical activity intensities (1, 2, 3. 4). However with the release of DDR Mobile and DDR 3D Mobile none of those benefits will be possible.
[Via Joystiq, Electricpig, Mobile Entertainment]

iPong on iPhone

Pong + iPhone = iPong. Mr. Kondo developed this multiplayer iPong for iPhone Touch even though the iPhone is not yet available in Japan. As the ball bounces off player one's paddle and off the screen the ball reappears on player two's screen at about the same trajectory it left player one's screen and with very little latency/delay. It sure hasn't been long since iPhone "exergames" were suggested.
[Via Technabob]

RealReplay - GPS racing on your mobile

The crazy, forward-thinking group Mobius from Austria also has a GPS racing game for whatever mode of travel you prefer (walk, run, bike, hike, drive, skate, etc..). Think of it as a the logical next step of Gmaps Pedometer and Map My Run and very similar to Active Outdoor (featured earlier). Real Replay and Active Ooutdoor are free for GPS-enabled mobile devices.

Wayfinder Active™ - Activeoutdoor.com

Wayfinder Active is a free GPS service available for cell phones/mobile devices and provides a way to track information about routes including speed of travel, calories burned, altitude. etc.. As I mentioned in an earlier post, providing information about physical performances and a social means to connect with others might encourage and motivate people to continue with that physical activity.
[Via Wayfinder & Active Outdoor]

Geotagger - "Physical" social bookmarking on the go

Takumi Yoshida's GPS geotagging device will bring social networking and ubiquitous computing together so that people can find the "cool" places before they've become well known.

[Via DVICE and Takumi Yoshida]

ME2

Collect points in the soon to be released ME2 Universe by being active. Each step earns you a point that you can use to purchase in-game rewards. I'm not sure if they're using a pedometer or accelerometer to capture steps. Introduced at Toy Fair. I really like the integration of real world physical activity combined with online game-play.

[Via 360 Blog & ME2]