Although exercising at home has benefits, it is not always engaging or motivating. Augmented Reality (AR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) offer the potential to make in-home exercising and exergaming more inclusive and immersive, but there is limited research investigating how such systems can be designed. We employed a participatory design approach involving semi-structured interviews to investigate how homes can be augmented to facilitate exercising experiences. We developed 10 recommendations for developing home-based exercising experiences using AR HMDs. Our results further contribute to the existing body of research on the use of AR for exercising, home applications, and everyday objects by presenting the first foundational study investigating the wide range of exercises that can be supported through AR HMDs in home environments and the different ways home elements may support these exercises, and laying the groundwork for future work developing home-based exergaming through AR HMDs to increase people's physical activity levels.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3641897
The field of Sports Human-Computer Interaction (SportsHCI) investigates interaction design to support a physically active human being. Despite growing interest and dissemination of SportsHCI literature over the past years, many publications still focus on solving specific problems in a given sport. We believe in the benefit of generating fundamental knowledge for SportsHCI more broadly to advance the field as a whole. To achieve this, we aim to identify the grand challenges in SportsHCI, which can help researchers and practitioners in developing a future research agenda. Hence, this paper presents a set of grand challenges identified in a five-day workshop with 22 experts who have previously researched, designed, and deployed SportsHCI systems. Addressing these challenges will drive transformative advancements in SportsHCI, fostering better athlete performance, athlete-coach relationships, spectator engagement, but also immersive experiences for recreational sports or exercise motivation, and ultimately, improve human well-being.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642050
The increasing demand for home fitness solutions underscores the need for interactive displays that enhance user experiences. This study introduces a technology that autonomously adjusts display height using the skeletal information of demonstrators from videos, catering to home fitness needs. A user study involving thirty participants compared fixed height, manual adjustment, and automatic adjustment conditions. Head flexion angles and NASA-TLX survey responses were used for evaluation. Results showed a significant reduction in head flexion angles with automatic adjustment, promoting proper spinal alignment. NASA-TLX responses indicated lower mental, effort, and frustration ratings, along with improved performance and perceived support in the automatic adjustment condition compared to other conditions. These findings confirm that motion-based height adjustment improves posture and enhances the overall interactive experience. This research demonstrates the feasibility of integrating responsive ergonomics into interactive displays and suggests the importance of further personalization, conducting diverse user studies, and refining algorithms to fully leverage the potential of this technology.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642936
Many people struggle to exercise regularly, raising the risk of serious health-related issues. Extended reality (XR) exergames address these hurdles by combining physical exercises with enjoyable, immersive gameplay. While a growing body of research explores XR exergames, no previous review has structured this rapidly expanding research landscape. We conducted a scoping review of the current state of XR exergame research to (i) provide a structured overview, (ii) highlight trends, and (iii) uncover knowledge gaps. After identifying 1318 papers in human-computer interaction and medical databases, we ultimately included 186 papers in our analysis. We provide a quantitative and qualitative summary of XR exergame research, showing current trends and potential future considerations. Finally, we provide a taxonomy of XR exergames to help future design and methodological investigation and reporting.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642124
Training Load Management (TLM) is crucial for achieving optimal athletic performance and preventing chronic sports injuries. Current sports trackers provide runners with data to manage their training load. However, little is known about the extent and the way sports trackers are used for TLM. We conducted a survey (N=249) and interviews (N=24) with runners to understand sports tracker use in TLM practices. We found that runners possess some understanding of training load and generally trust their trackers to provide accurate training load-related data. Still, they hesitate to strictly follow trackers’ suggestions in managing their training load, often relying on their intuitions and body signals to determine and adapt training plans. Our findings contribute to SportsHCI research by shedding light on how sports trackers are incorporated into TLM practices and providing implications for developing trackers that better support runners in managing their training load.
doi.org/10.1145/3613904.3642051