Intelligent fitness environment combines mobile gaming and physical training

It has traditionally been thought that computer gaming and physical training compete with one another for our free time and are opposites with regard to the impact they have on our health. However, gamification, sensors and mobile games now offer the tools for increasing activity and picking up healthy habits as part of daily life for people of all ages.

The University of Oulu's Empirical Software Engineering in Software, Systems and Services (M3S) unit has participated in the development of a new concept, the Fitness Village, which combines physical training as well as digital environments and games in a new motivating way. The concept is made up of a combination of products and services that support one another; these include the Fitness Village mobile game, activity measuring sensors as well as wellbeing expert services and merchandise that support the concept. Finland's first training centre that utilises gamification in practice has been opened in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki.

Fitness Village concept users are rewarded for both physical training and results they achieve in the game. Sensors and fitness equipment  and now also the new Fitness Village Training Center make it possible to transfer individual results of real world physical training via the mobile game into new digital currency, which can be utilised at the Training Center or at other partner companies.

The university's Software Engineering Research Unit has participated in the Fitness Village project together with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland  Ltd  in the design of software and technology-based services as well as in the integration of the customer's point of view into design and testing.

‘We have a long history in the research of intelligent fitness environments. All previous research in the subject area has now matured into this commercialisation project,’ Project Manager Elina Annanperä from the  Software Engineering Research Unit explains.

In addition to the University of Oulu and VTT, mobile game company Fitness Village and other companies have played an integral role in the project.  

The Fitness Village research project and concept are part of the Tekes funded national HILLA growth and innovation program. The HILLA Program (High-tech ICT Leverage from Long-term Assetization) comprises the development and piloting of new types of digitalisation promoting enterprise research business ecosystems. The program aims to commercialise research results as swiftly as possible in cooperation with companies. The national HILLA Program's research partners include the University of Oulu, VTT and Oulu University of Applied Sciences.

FiVi project

HILLA program

M3S - Software Engineering Research Unit

http://fitnessvillage.com/

 

 

Last updated: 27.9.2017