Eliciting casual activity through playful exploration, communication, personalisation and expression

In the PlayFit project, we aim to persuade teenagers to be physically active through playful actions with inherent physical activity. We envision small moments of casual active play throughout the day, matching the target group's interests and activities, and fitting into their daily life. Our research revealed four core interest and activity areas for the target group: exploring, communicating, personalising and expressing. We created three design explorations that connect to these areas and persuade teenagers to explore, communicate, personalise and express in a playful way. The first prototype, Speakers-of-Oz, consists of a series of interactive speakers that respond to passers-by with sound output. Whisper Balls, the second prototype, are interactive balls that allow a person to record and play a spoken message. The Magic Mirror prototype is an interactive video wall that mirrors and repeats the actions of passersby. The results of informal evaluations are promising; all three prototypes elicit playful behaviour, incorporating exploration, communication, personalisation and expression.