Changing Commuter Behaviour through Gamification

Doctoral thesis (2016)

This thesis explores how the dynamic context of mobility, more specifically the commute to and from work in the region of Luxembourg, can be changed through gamified mobile applications. The goal is to ... [more ▼]

This thesis explores how the dynamic context of mobility, more specifically the commute to and from work in the region of Luxembourg, can be changed through gamified mobile applications. The goal is to get a better understanding of the innovative application area of gamified mobility and its potential, as well as to describe its implications for research and practice. This applied research is inspired by a participatory design approach, where information is gained by adopting a user perspective and through the process of conceptualising and applying methods in empirical studies. The four empirical studies described in this thesis employed a mixed-methodology approach consisting of focus group interviews, questionnaires and mobile applications. Within these studies four prototypes were developed and tested, namely Coffee Games, Driver Diaries, Commutastic and Leave Now. The studies show concrete possibilities and difficulties in the interdisciplinary field of gamifying mobility behaviour. This dissertation is composed of seven chapters: Chapter I introduces the topics mobility, games and behaviour; Chapter II presents a proof of concept study (Using Gamification and Metaphor to Design a Mobility Platform for Commuters); Chapter III explains the development and validation of a mobility research tool (Driver Diaries: a Multimodal Mobility Behaviour Logging Methodology); Chapter IV describes the development of a new gamified mobility application and its evaluation (Studying Commuter Behaviour for Gamifying Mobility); Chapter V provides an empirical assessment of the relevance of gamification and incentives for the evaluation of a mobile application (Changing Mobility Behaviour through Recommendations) and Chapter VI is a summary on how to change mobility behaviour through a multilevel design approach (Using Gamification to change Mobility Behaviour: Lessons Learned from two Approaches). The four prototypes help to address the primary goal of this thesis, which is to contribute to new approaches to urban mobility by exploring gamified mobility applications. Coffee games is a proof of concept, low-fidelity implementation of a real-life game that tests gamification elements and incentives for changing indoor-mobility behaviour. The findings of two iterations with a total of 19 participants show the adaptability of the concept to different contexts. The approach to change indoor-mobility behaviour with this mock-up game was successful. Driver Diaries is a methodology to assess mobility behaviour in Luxembourg. The aim with this mobile, digital travel diary is to study features of cross-border commuter mobility and activities in Luxembourg in order to identify suitable elements (activities etc.) for a gamified mobility application, such as Commutastic. After two rounds of data collection (Android and iOS) the records of 187 participants were analysed and the results illustrate the mobility habits of the target audience. Commutastic is a mobility game application that motivates users to avoid peak-hour traffic by proposing alternative after work activities. Analysing the data of 90 participants, we find that the timely offer of an activity in the proximity along with gamification elements involves users and motivates a third of them to engage in alternative mobility behaviours. Leave Now is a gamified recommendation application, which rewards users for leaving their workplace outside of their usual schedule and explores the role of specific gamification elements on user motivation. The study, which was conducted with 19 participants, shows differences between an individual play and a group play condition regarding leaving time changes. The contributions of this thesis to gamification and mobility research and practice span from mobility participations as a game and integral part of our everyday life to methodologies of its successful implementation in the Luxemburgish context. The results show the advantages, disadvantages, and restrictions of gamification in urban mobility contexts. This is an important step towards gamifying mobility behaviour change and therefore towards research aiming at a wellbeing in a better urban life. [less ▲]

“And? Did we do nice things?”: Children documenting their emerging inquiries in early science learning

in Milne, Catherine; Tobin, Kenneth (Eds.) Sociocultural studies and implications for science education: the experiential and the virtual (2015)

Incentives and gaming environments for changing commuter behaviour

Scientific Conference (2014, September 30)

The project aims to produce a pervasive, gamified system that tries to incentivize mobility behaviour change by offering alternative activities in contrast to usual journeys in such way that it will ... [more ▼]

The project aims to produce a pervasive, gamified system that tries to incentivize mobility behaviour change by offering alternative activities in contrast to usual journeys in such way that it will reduce traffic, emissions and, in the end, save money. The alternatives, for example, such as taking different modes of transport, are incentivised through gamification. In order to develop this pervasive system, we analysed existing mobility patterns of commuters in Luxembourg. The methodology that we developed consists of a questionnaire, a smartphone application and focus group interviews. This paper presents the findings of the questionnaire and how they influence the design of the gamified pervasive application. [less ▲]

Driver diaries: a multimodal mobility behaviour logging methodology

in Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (2013, October)

Reducing congestion through persuasive gaming

Scientific Conference (2012)

In this paper we provide an overview of the I-GEAR (incentives and gaming environments for automobile routing) project that is intended to reduce traffic congestion in Luxembourg through the use of ... [more ▼]

In this paper we provide an overview of the I-GEAR (incentives and gaming environments for automobile routing) project that is intended to reduce traffic congestion in Luxembourg through the use of persuasive gaming. In order to illustrate some of the issues involved we also present an outline concept of a live game in which we propose to encourage the workshop participants to take part. If a sufficient number of workshop participants take part, this real life game could even be used as a small scale study within the project. [less ▲]

Towards a Simple City Driving Simulator Based on Speed Dreams and OSM

in Adjunct Proceedings of 4th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications (2012), 2

This paper presents an architecture and partially built simulation platform which is designed to offer a flexible open ended approach for conducting laboratory experiments. The emphasis is on supporting ... [more ▼]

This paper presents an architecture and partially built simulation platform which is designed to offer a flexible open ended approach for conducting laboratory experiments. The emphasis is on supporting multiple drivers and the ability to swap in and out different software components and devices. [less ▲]

Critical interaction instances in collaborative concurrent engineering

in Thoben, Klaus-Dieter (Ed.) Proceedings of the 2011 17th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising (ICE 2011) (2011)

Previous studies have defined people, process, tools and technology as relevant elements for Concurrent Engineering (CE) processes. This study analyzes the principles of dynamic interrelation between ... [more ▼]

Previous studies have defined people, process, tools and technology as relevant elements for Concurrent Engineering (CE) processes. This study analyzes the principles of dynamic interrelation between these elements in the process of developing a satellite (mission), depending on collaborative working interactions. The participants in a CE facility work in parallel, exchanging their knowledge and information, using their set-up tools acting according to the requirements of their disciplinary specialities and the task at hand in the CE process. We analyze the collaborative working context in the CE facility, where compelling moments emerge, that require the different disciplinary positions in the CE facility to engage in negotiations by moving into shared spaces in order to solve the issues at stake. In line with interactional design studies, we identify particular moments in the interaction as "Critical Interaction Instances"(CIIs). CIIs have two criteria, first the awareness of an existing problem. Second the repositioning of the participants in the CE facility which correlates with the shared spaces that the collaboration creates. The results of this study demonstrate that CIIs enhance the collaboration (quality) throughout the CE process. Based on data collected in a CE facility in Germany the study shows how CIIs emerge, unfold and mark collaborative interaction in CE. [less ▲]