Future Scenarios - done

EXERGAME project collect ideas of future exergames or technology-boosted exercise from experts (researchers) and potential users. The first step on collecting future scenarios (+5 years) is now done. We will analyse the ideas and select the most potential ones for further development.

In parallel with the scenario process we will start doing user studies. Our aim is to understand potential user needs, find out new ideas or get support to our scenarios / ideas.

The next step after creating scenarios is to innovate concepts. The concept development will be emphasized in EXERGAME workshop in December 2005.

Networking

Exergame-project has joined "Games for Change" and "Games for Health" networks.

Games For Change brings together non-profits and their partners to explore the use of digital games to advance organizational mission and societal change.

Games for Health to develop a community and best practices platform for the numerous games being built for health care applications. To date the project has brought together researchers, medical professionals, and game developers to share information about the impact games and game technologies can have on health care and policy.

Both projects work under "Serious Games" initiative. Serious Games focus on new ways to combine beneficial purposes with pleasure.

Our intention is to share knowhow and ideas with other researchers and developers of exergames or other types of serious games.

Conferences related to EXERGAME project

A short list of academic conferences that somewhat discuss about relevant issues to EXERGAME-project.

Pervasive´06 is an international conference held annually which aims topresent significant research contributions in the area of pervasivecomputing technologies, systems and applications.

MobileHCI´06 provides a forum for academics and practitioners to discuss the challenges, potential solutions and innovations towards effective interaction with mobile systems and services. It covers the analysis, design, evaluation and application of human-computer interaction techniques and approaches for all mobile computing devices and services.

Persuasive 2006 is aimed at exploring technology in the service of human well-being, within the broader context of a socially and ecologically sustainable society.

EUC 2006 conference provides a forum for engineers and scientists in academia, industry, and government to address all resulting profound challenges including technical, safety, social, legal, political, and economic issues, and to present and discuss their deas, results, work in progress and experience on all aspects of embedded and ubiquitous computing.

Dimensions of exergaming

At the beginning of the project we looked at different types of solutions fitting into the idea of exergaming. Exergaming is defined as: "Any activity using equipment that requires the user to be involved and an active participant in either a storyline or some kind of game or action (be it with or against a computer, a posted
score or other players)" [geartrends.com].

There are at least six type of exergame applications areas (with several sub-groups). These are:
1. "cyber" exercise cycle / device
- VR bike, PowerGrid Fitness, Nexfit, Reebok Cyberrider, Tunturi VR bike... (indoor)

2. dance pad (sensory floor)
- sensors recognize 1-N players. E.g. DDR, Lumetila, UbiPlay... (indoor/outdoor)

3. web camera based
- EyeToy (Antigrav & Kinetics), KickAss Kung-Fu, KukaKumma MuuMaassa, Vivid Group... indoor)

4. mobile/wireless
- mobile phones (bar codes, matrix codes, RFID), GPS, AR... (outdoor/indoor), wristops (Suunto, Polar), FRWD outdoor extreme sport computer, etc.

5. wearables
- Whether to look innovations from South Korean "daegu industry" or Finnish company "Clothing+", bio shirts, ubiquitous wearable offices, intra-body communicators etc. are on their way (indoor/outdoor)

6. other
- there is a variety of special interfaces designed for certain purpose, e.g. VR-golf, GameTrack, FightSuit and game interfaces used in commercial games (such as Amped snowboarding game) not to forget innovative media art pieces (indoor)