DISCOV: Stimulating Physical Activity through an Explorative Interactive Walking Experience

in [ ] With Design: Reinventing Design Modes (2022, November)

Aware of the consequences of their inactive lifestyles, many people still struggle to integrate enough physical activity into their busy lives. Interventions that nudge to reinforce existing active ... [more ▼]

Aware of the consequences of their inactive lifestyles, many people still struggle to integrate enough physical activity into their busy lives. Interventions that nudge to reinforce existing active behavior seem therefore more likely to be effective than those adding an activity to daily routines. To encourage people to increase their physical activity level, we designed Discov, a network of physical waypoints triggering people to lengthen their walks. Placed in a public park, Discov encourages people to explore their surroundings in a fun and challenging way by creating an interactive walking experience. Adopting a Research-through-Design approach, we explore the potential of the design of accessible infrastructures and human-environment interactions to impact public health by nudging citizens into being more physically active. We discuss insights gathered through this process and report on first user tests of this interactive walking experience. [less ▲]

Creating active urban environments: insights from expert interviews

in Cities & Health (2022)

Urban planning and design offer opportunities to nudge people towards more active behavior. This is a popular topic among urbanists and health professionals, with several guidelines and best practices ... [more ▼]

Urban planning and design offer opportunities to nudge people towards more active behavior. This is a popular topic among urbanists and health professionals, with several guidelines and best practices already developed. However, a gap exists between theory and practice and the complex realization process of such active environments is rarely documented. In this study, we investigated the process of designing, implementing, and evaluating active urban environments through semi-structured interviews with 11 European practitioner experts in the field of active environment design and development. We additionally analyzed 51 examples of active environments they provided. We discuss definitions of active environments and their added value to encourage active behavior and provide an overview of the spectrum of design strategies, elements and boundaries used to create them. We also describe typical steps in the design and realization process, including types of stakeholders, main gaps, and points of friction in this practice [less ▲]

Fontana: Triggering Physical Activity and Social Connectedness through an Interactive Water Installation

in Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the 2022 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2022, April)

Promoting healthy and active lifestyles is an important objective for many governing agencies. The design of active urban environments can be an effective tool to encourage more active behaviors and water ... [more ▼]

Promoting healthy and active lifestyles is an important objective for many governing agencies. The design of active urban environments can be an effective tool to encourage more active behaviors and water features can attract people, improving their experience of the urban space. To explore the potential of these concepts, we designed Fontana; an interactive public installation that aims to stimulate physical activity and social connectedness in the urban outdoor space, using the multidimensional attractiveness of water. We focus on the use of embedded interactive technology to promote physical activity, using water as a linking element between users. Adopting a research-through-design approach, we explored how such installations can nudge people into an active behavior while additionally strengthening social connectedness, using inclusive design principles. We report on insights gathered through this case study and findings of a preliminary user test, discussing the implications of this work for design researchers and practitioners. [less ▲]

Raya: A Tangible Sports Buddy Reminding Oneself of the Commitment to Exercise

Scientific Conference (2021, June)

The Hubs: Design Insights for Walking Meeting Technology

in Lecture Notes in Computer Science (2021), 12935 LNCS

As an active form of meeting, walking meetings can be beneficial for office workers who often have a sedentary work routine. Despite their substantial benefits in terms of health, social interactions, and ... [more ▼]

As an active form of meeting, walking meetings can be beneficial for office workers who often have a sedentary work routine. Despite their substantial benefits in terms of health, social interactions, and creativity, walking meetings are not yet widely adopted. Some key barriers limiting their social acceptance and wider adoption, for instance, the difficulty to present files or take notes, might be addressed by technology. Using the Hubs - a network of stand-up meeting stations - as a design exemplar, we conducted a scenario-based survey (N = 186) to provide insights into how technological solutions can support the practice of walking meetings. Focusing on the size of the group and type of meetings, we identify scenarios of use and discuss design implications for the development of future technologies and service design components to support walking meetings. © 2021, IFIP International Federation for Information Processing. [less ▲]

Laina: Dynamic Data Physicalization for Slow Exercising Feedback

in DIS '21: Designing Interactive Systems Conference 2021 (2021)

The increased popularity of recreational sports, like running, led to the development of numerous technologies supporting people in their training. However, in their current form and interaction, these ... [more ▼]

The increased popularity of recreational sports, like running, led to the development of numerous technologies supporting people in their training. However, in their current form and interaction, these take a rather standardized approach focusing on quantified data tracking displayed through screens or audio. In this paper, we explore how dynamic data physicalization through a shape-changing interface can open the design space of exercise feedback. Relying on an expert study on the aesthetics of interaction (N=23), we designed Laina, a shape-changing art piece presenting physicalized running data through a slow feedback mechanism. We deployed Laina at 3 participant's home, during a series of 3-weeks field studies. Results show that Laina allows for deep reflection, anticipation and exploration of running behavior. The aim of our paper is to provide insights on the use of slow feedback mechanisms for exercise-related products, through the design of a dynamic data physicalization artefact. © 2021 Owner/Author. [less ▲]

Which App to Choose? An Online Tool that Supports the Decision-making Process of Recreational Runners to Choose an App

in Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Design4Health Amsterdam 2020 (2020)

In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in the use of health and sports-related smartphone applications (apps). This is also reflected in App-stores, which are stacked with thousands of ... [more ▼]

In recent years, there has been an exponential increase in the use of health and sports-related smartphone applications (apps). This is also reflected in App-stores, which are stacked with thousands of health- and sports-apps, with new apps launched each day. These apps have great potential to monitor and support people’s physical activity and health. For users, however, it is difficult to know which app suits their needs. In this paper, we present an online tool that supports the decision-making process for choosing an appropriate app. We constructed and validated a screening instrument to assess app content quality, together with the assessment of users’ needs. Both served as input for building the tool through various iterations with prototypes and user tests. This resulted in an online tool which relies on app content quality scores to match the users’ needs with apps that score high in the screening instrument on those particular needs. Users can add new apps to the database via the screening instrument, making the tool self supportive and future proof. A feedback loop allows users to give feedback on the recommended app and how well it meets their needs. This feedback is added to the database and used in future filtering and recommendations. The principles used can be applied to other areas of sports, physical activity and health to help users to select an app that suits their needs. Potentially increasing the long-term use of apps to monitor and to support physical activity and health. [less ▲]

A Diary Study on the Exercise Intention-Behaviour Gap: Implications for the Design of Interactive Products

in DRS International Conference 2020 (2020)

Increasingly aware of the importance of active lifestyles, many people intend to exercise more. One of the main challenges is to translate exercise intentions into actual exercise behaviour, the so-called ... [more ▼]

Increasingly aware of the importance of active lifestyles, many people intend to exercise more. One of the main challenges is to translate exercise intentions into actual exercise behaviour, the so-called intention-behaviour gap. To investigate barriers and enablers that affect this gap, we conducted a 7-day diary study with 16 participants. In this study, participants indicated what their exercise intentions and behaviour were per day, and whether and why they changed retrospectively during the day. Through the diary study, we gain insights into (i) the intention-behaviour interplay, and (ii) the experienced barriers and enablers that influence this interplay throughout the day. Based on the findings, we contribute new implications for design in supporting people translating their intentions into exercise behaviour, and propose three design concepts as examples. In these, the focus is on positively influencing the interplay of enablers and barriers of exercising and how these can be exemplified through design. [less ▲]

Ivy: Reading a critical design for sedentary behavior in the office context

in DIS 2020 Companion - Companion Publication of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (2020)

In this paper, we present and discuss Ivy, a critical artifact offering a novel design perspective on interventions that aim to reduce sedentary behavior in office workers. Ivy is an interactive office ... [more ▼]

In this paper, we present and discuss Ivy, a critical artifact offering a novel design perspective on interventions that aim to reduce sedentary behavior in office workers. Ivy is an interactive office chair that represents the amount of sitting time through growing ivy strands. Using the matrix of common argument types by Bardzell et al., we propose a structured "reading" of Ivy, as an example supporting reasoned and accessible conversations about criticality in design. Our reading of Ivy emphasized that its criticality emerges mainly from data physicalization as a new form of interactivity intended to trigger reflectiveness. The insights of this design study contribute towards a critical perspective on designing interventions to reduce sedentary time and spark discussion amongst designers and researchers in the field of Human-Computer Interaction. © 2020 Owner/Author. [less ▲]

The hub: Facilitating walking meetings through a network of interactive devices

in DIS 2020 Companion - Companion Publication of the 2020 ACM Designing Interactive Systems Conference (2020)

Walking meetings are a promising means to improve healthy behavior at work. By providing a physically active way of working, walking meetings can reduce our sitting time. Several obstacles that limit the ... [more ▼]

Walking meetings are a promising means to improve healthy behavior at work. By providing a physically active way of working, walking meetings can reduce our sitting time. Several obstacles that limit the social acceptance and wider adoption of walking meeting practice have been highlighted in previous research. Amongst these, the difficulty to take notes or present files is a recurring concern for office workers. To address these barriers, we designed the Hub, a network of stand-up meeting stations that accommodate different work-related tasks during walking meetings. We report on two pilot user tests investigating users' experiences and ideas for improvement, and present future research steps. We discuss the usefulness and relevance of the Hub concept to overcome the obstacles associated with walking meetings. © 2020 Owner/Author. [less ▲]