e-Gibalec: Mobile application to monitor and encourage physical activity in schoolchildren

Issue title: Human-centred Ambient Intelligence: Cognitive Approaches, Reasoning and Learning

Guest editors: Zoe Falomir, Juan A. Ortega, Natividad Martínez and Hans Guesguen

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Janko, Vito^{a; b; *} | Cvetković, Božidara^{a; b} | Gradišek, Anton^a | Luštrek, Mitja^{a; b} | Štrumbelj, Boro^c | Kajtna, Tanja^c

Affiliations: [a] Department of Intelligent Systems, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia | [b] Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Jamova cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia | [c] Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, Gortanova 22, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: vito.janko@ijs.si.

Abstract: We present the e-Gibalec system, designed to encourage schoolchildren towards a more active lifestyle. The system consists of a mobile application that, through sensors built into the smartphone, detects children’s physical activity and rewards them in a game-like manner. It also consists of a web application that allows the parents and physical education teachers to look at the children’s physical activity history, so they can further motivate them if needed. We discuss the motivational mechanisms employed in the system, provide an evaluation of the accuracy of the activity-recognition component, and present a pilot study that measured the effect of our system on a sample schoolchildren population.

Keywords: Physical education, activity recognition, energy expenditure estimation, motivation, smartphone sensors

DOI: 10.3233/AIS-170453

Journal: Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Smart Environments, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 595-609, 2017