Abstract
This article describes research that aims to encourage physical activity through a novel pervasive gaming paradigm. Data from a wearable accelerometer are logged wirelessly to a cell phone and control the animation of an avatar that represents the player in a virtual race game with other players over the cellular network. Winners are declared every day and players with an excess of activity points can spend some to get hints in mental games of the suite, like Sudoku. The racing game runs in the background throughout the day and every little move counts. As the gaming platform is embedded in the daily routine of players, it may act as a strong behavioral modifier and increase everyday physical activity other than volitional sporting exercise. Such physical activity (e.g., taking the stairs), is termed NEAT and was shown to play a major role in obesity prevention and intervention. A pilot experiment demonstrates that players are engaged in NEAT-o-Games and become more physically active while having a good dosage of fun.
- Baudish, P., Sang-Gyeun, A., Esteban, S., Hawkins, J., Bernardi, K., H., Ouk, S., Panthen, C., Piazza, A., Pile, C., and Schwab, M. 2007. Eight new input devices---Eight new ways to move. In Proceedings of the Exertion Interfaces Workshop (CHI 2007, San Jose, CA, May).Google Scholar
- Benford, S., Crabtree, A., Flintham, M., Drozd, A., Anastasi, R., Paxton, M., Tandavanitj, N., Adams, and Row-Far, J. 2006. Can you see me now? ACM Trans. Computer-Human Interaction 13, 1, 100--133. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Bouten, C., Venne, W., Westerterp, K., Verduin, M., and Janssen, J. 1996. Daily physical activity assessment in free-living subjects: Comparison between movement registration and doubly labeled water. J. Appl. Physiol. 81, 1019--1026.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Brown, D. 2006. Playing to win: Video games and the fight against obesity. J. American Dietetic Assoc. 106, 2, 188--189.Google ScholarCross Ref
- CDC. 2007. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/Google Scholar
- Chalmers, M., Barkhuus, L., Bell, M., Brown, B., Hall, M., Sherwood, S., and Tennent, P. 2005. Gaming on the edge: Using seams in pervasive games. In Proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Gaming Applications in Pervasive Computing Environments (Pervasive 2005, Munich, May).Google Scholar
- Cheok, A. D., Goh, K. H., Liu, W., Farbiz, F., Fong, S. W., Teo, S. L., Li, Y., and Yang, X. B. 2004. Human Pacman: A mobile, wide-area entertainment system based on physical, social and ubiquitous computing. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 8, 2, 71--81. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Choi, J. H., Lee, J., Hwang, H., T., Kim, J., P., Park, J., C. and Shin, K. 2005. Estimation of activity energy expenditure: Accelerometer approach. Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 2005, IEEE-EMBS 2005, 3830--3833.Google Scholar
- Clarke, D. and Duimering, P. R. 2006. How computer gamers experience the game situation: A behavioral study. ACM Computers in Entertainment 4, 3. Article 6. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Consolvo, S., Everitt, K., Smith, I., and Landay, J. A. 2006. Design requirements for technologies that encourage physical activity. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, ACM, New York, 457--466. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Critser., G. 2006. All Politics Is Loco; Changing minds in Alzheimer's research. LA Times, Nov. 5.Google Scholar
- Dumas, J. and Redish, J. 1999. A Practical Guide to Usability Testing. (Rev. ed.), Intellect. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Hoysniemi J. 2006. Games, user interface and performing arts: International survey on the Dance Dance Revolution game. ACM Computers in Entertainment 4, 2. Article 8. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Konarka. 2007. http://www.konarka.com/Google Scholar
- Kueger, R. 1997. Moderating Focus Groups. Sage Publications.Google Scholar
- Kushner, D. 2002. So what, exactly, do online gamers want? New York Times, Mar. 7.Google Scholar
- Lee, G., Raab, F., Tsai, C., Patrick, K., and Grisworld, W. G. 2006. Work-in-progress: PmEB: A mobile phone application for monitoring caloric balance. In Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2006), ACM, New York, 1013--1018. Extended abstract. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Levine, J., Baukol, P. and Pavlidis, I. 1999. The energy expended in chewing gum. New England J. Medicine 341, 27, 2100--2100.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Levine, J. A., Eberhardt, N. L., and Jensen, M. D. 1999. Role of non-exercise activity thermogenesis in resistance to fat gain in humans. Science 283, 212--214.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Levine, J., Vander, M. W., Hill, J. O., and Klesges, R. C. 2006. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis: The crouching tiger hidden dragon of societal weight gain. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 26, 4, 729--36.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Lin, J. J., Mamykina, L., Lindtner, S., Delajoux, G., and Strub, H. B. 2006. Fish'n'Steps: Encouraging physical activity with an interactive computer game. In Ubicomp 2006. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Mobile DDR. 2007. http://nirmalpatel.com/mdr_demo.htmlGoogle Scholar
- Maitland, J., Sherwood, S., Barkhuus, L., Anderson, I., Chalmers, M., and Brown, B. 2006. Increasing the awareness of daily activity levels with pervasive computing. In Proceedings of the IEEE Pervasive Health Conference (Innsbruck, Austria, Nov.).Google Scholar
- Mccormack, S. 2005. The number's up. Teachers Magazine (March).Google Scholar
- Mokka, S., Vaatanen, A., Heinil, A. J., and Valkkynen, P. 2003. Fitness computer game with a bodily user interface. In Proceedings of the Second international Conference on Entertainment Computing 38 (Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA), 1--3. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Mueller, F. and Agamanolis, S. 2006. Pervasive gaming: Sports over a distance. ACM Computers in Entertainment 3, 3. Google ScholarDigital Library
- National Cancer Institute. 2007. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/obesityGoogle Scholar
- Palm Treo 700w/wx. 2007. http://www.palm.com/us/products/smartphones/treo700w/Google Scholar
- Parallax Propeller. 2007. http://www.parallax.com/propeller/index.aspGoogle Scholar
- Prentice, A. M. and JEBB, S. A. 1995. Obesity in Britain: Gluttony or sloth? British Medical Journal 311, 437--9.Google ScholarCross Ref
- Siesel, S. P. E. 2007. Classes turn to video game that works legs, not thumbs. New York Times, April 30.Google Scholar
- Szulbroski, D. 2005. This is not a game: A guide to alternate reality gaming. (First digital ed.), DPRGRM.Google Scholar
- Toscos, T., Faber, A., and Gandhi, M. P. 2006. Chick clique: Pervasive technology to motivate teenage girls to exercise. In Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2006), ACM Press, New York, 1873--1878. Extended abstract. Google ScholarDigital Library
- WHO. 2007. http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/facts/obesity/Google Scholar
- Wikipedia Majestic. 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majestic_%28video_game%29Google Scholar
- Xu, K., Prince, S. J. D., Cheok, A. D., QIU, Y., and Kumar, K. G. 2003. Visual registration for unprepared augmented reality environments. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 7, 5, 287--298. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- NEAT-o-Games: blending physical activity and fun in the daily routine
Recommendations
NEAT-o-Games: novel mobile gaming versus modern sedentary lifestyle
MobileHCI '08: Proceedings of the 10th international conference on Human computer interaction with mobile devices and servicesThe proposed demonstration is based on the work performed as part of the NEAT-o-Games project. NEAT-o-Games is a suite of games that runs on mobile terminals such as cell phones. Unlike other games, NEAT-o-Games' primary goal is to become part of people'...
Elderly Assistance Using Wearable Sensors by Detecting Fall and Recognizing Fall Patterns
UbiComp '18: Proceedings of the 2018 ACM International Joint Conference and 2018 International Symposium on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing and Wearable ComputersFalling is a serious threat to the elderly people. One severe fall can cause hazardous problems like bone fracture or may lead to some permanent disability or even death. Thus, it has become the need of the hour to continuously monitor the activities of ...
NEAT-o-games: ubiquitous activity-based gaming
CHI EA '07: CHI '07 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing SystemsThe role of Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenes is (NEAT) has become a key component of obesity research, prevention, and treatment. This paper describes research that aims to suppress the obesity epidemic by infusing NEAT in the sedentary lifestyle of an ...
Comments