A UH professor has developed a free iPhone exercise game that allows users to have fun while losing weight.
The Walk n’ Play application allows users to count the calories they burn each day.
‘We use the iPhone to measure metabolic activity and embed it within a game framework to motivate people to live more active lifestyles,’ said Ioannis Pavlidis, computer science professor and leading researcher on the project.
Pavlidis led a team of researchers from the UH Computation Physiology Lab to design the application.
Pavlidis said the idea to develop Walk n’ Play came from his lab’s dedication to develop continuous physiological measurement methods and put them to use for the promotion of good health.
Walk n’ Play uses the iPhone’s accelerometer sensor to measure the total number of calories a user burns during the day.
The application, which debuted in March, is now released in an updated, improved version that allows players to compete in real time through the cellular network.
‘Walk n’ Play uses these metabolic counts as points in a competitive game where the user competes against another iPhone user or against a simulator,’ Pavlidis said.
Each user is represented in the game by an avatar, which mimics the user’s activities. Points are tallied at the end of the day, and the more active character is declared the winner.
By trying to outdo competitors, there is a built-in incentive for more physical activity. Pavlidis said it is like a form social networking, motivating users to walk while putting them in contact with others.
Pavlidis’ design was implemented and further enhanced by post-doctoral researcher Pradeep Buddharaju and doctoral candidate Yuichi Fujiki.
‘My PhD. student, Yuichi Fujiki, did a lot of the development and performed all the biomedical calibration and validation studies,’ Pavlidis said.
Texas A&M University’s Dr. Ergun Akleman designed all the avatars and graphics for the application.
In the lab, Pavlidis and his team devised a method to correlate accelerometer values with virtual oxygen-consumption measurements to calibrate the iPhone to accurately measure calories burned.
Pavlidis’ team worked with subjects at the National Center for Human Performance at the Texas Medical Center to complete the biomedical portion of the research.
This iPhone application is completely different from any pedometer, Pavlidis said.
‘Pedometers usually count walking steps while Walk n’ Play counts calories, which is a more reliable measure of physical activity,’ he said.
Many students are overweight due to a lack of mild physical activity, Pavlidis said.
‘Students sit too much. They drive to school, they sit at the desks through the day and then they go back home and usually sit more, either studying or watching TV,’ he said.
One of the first users of Walk n’ Play was shocked at the realization of how sedentary he is, Pavlidis said.
‘Realizing this is a key to start doing something and in that sense, Walk n’ Play may really help in a fun way,’ he said.
Walk n’ Play is available through Apple’s Application Store and already has more than 3,000 users to date.
Through development and use of this application, Pavlidis has learned a lot about physical activity patterns of modern humans while reaching many people in real-time.
‘This is new for academic research and is feasible only through imaginative design and the capability afforded by communal portals such as the Apple Store.’
For more information about Walk n’ Play, visit http://www.cpl.uh.edu/projects/walk-n-play
