Exergaming in Augmented Living Spaces

Abstract

Exercise is essential for a healthy lifestyle. It can increase energy and stamina, improve sleep and mental health, and reduce the risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions. Yet, many people do not engage in enough physical activity. Common barriers include lack of time, motivation, discipline, access to facilities, financial constraints, cultural factors, personal circumstances, and medical conditions. Exercising at home can help overcome many of these barriers. However, a key challenge with home-based exercise is low adherence. An alternative approach that can improve adherence is the use of exercise video games (exergames), which can enhance enjoyment and reduce perceived exertion through the immersive and distracting nature of gameplay. Despite this, popular exergaming systems are not always safe or inclusive. Many games offer limited immersion, which is critical for maintaining motivation.

This thesis investigates how augmented reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) can support more engaging, inclusive, and immersive home-based exergaming. Using a design research methodology, we conducted four studies. The first study involved semi-structured interviews with potential users and senior physiotherapists to identify suitable home exercises, home objects, and general strategies for augmenting them. The second study involved design activities on Snapchat followed by focus group discussions with participant-driven photo elicitation, to identify more specific augmentation strategies.

Building on these insights, the third study translated the findings into practical and playable exergame concepts. Using a research-through-design approach, we conducted ideation and low-fidelity prototyping activities to create two initial exergame concepts and develop a method for designing immersive AR experiences that incorporate tangible objects. The final study served as a boundary-testing exploration to examine whether our earlier findings could extend to a rehabilitation context. Specifically, we conducted an online workshop with a group of researchers and experts with lived experience of Multiple Sclerosis, to assess whether AR HMD exergames could facilitate in-home rehabilitation in addition to regular exercise.

Together, our studies contributed to recommendations and design guidelines on suitable home exercises for AR environments, home objects that can be augmented to facilitate in-home exercising, and how they should be augmented to provide tailored support for different exercises. They also led to the development of a novel ideation method for immersive AR experiences involving tangible objects, two initial exergame concepts, and recommendations specific to the rehabilitation context.

We synthesised these findings to establish key areas of consideration in designing home-based exergames for AR HMDs, and developed a design framework, which we applied to produce a final exergame concept. Our design framework can be used to create additional exergames options. As more exergames are created to support a variety of home-based exercises and user interests across different rooms, we envision the emergence of a rich library of exergames that can be used to assemble personalised exercise programs tailored to the user's diverse needs, abilities, interests, and home environment. The outcomes of our research have the potential to break down barriers to exercise, significantly increase physical activity levels, and contribute to healthier lifestyles among individuals. Show more