SmartFit: A Gamifi ed Mobile Application for Promoting Physical Activities

Abstract

Research has found that relatively few people engage in regular exercise or other physical activities. Despite the availability of numerous mobile ap- plications and specialized devices for self-tracking, people mostly lack the motivation for performing physical activities. This article rst presents a rule-based framework for providing continuous motivation and engagement to users in order to promote active lifestyle. Second the study proposes SmartFit, a mobile application, developed using rule-based approach for mo- tivating the user more towards healthy life style. The aim of SmartFit is to make use of di erent motivational techniques to keep the user engaged to- wards the system. Gami cation techniques have been incorporated in Smart- Fit as they are found to serve the purpose of motivating and encouraging the user. Gami cation is used for awarding/deducting points to user in order to keep them engaged for longer period. Points are awarded if the user completes his/her goal while they are deducted if the user fails to perform the recommended level of activities. Users set their goals and then perform the desired duration of exercise for achieving the goal. Users can not only set their goals but they can also change it whenever they nd it di cult to achieve the goal. SmartFit also provides adaptive feedback to the users based upon their achieved progress. Depending upon whether user achieves the recommended level, and how well they achieve it, the feedback motivates, encourages, or provides a point of re ection to the user. The objective is to facilitate and motivate the user and then keep them engaged in carrying out the recommended level of physical activities by using gami cation and adap- tive feedback. For evaluating SmartFit, we have deployed it on the devices of seven users. User's information i.e. duration of physical activity performed, score, trophies/stars earned, current level, target level etc. is recorded for the period of one month. After one month, a survey was conducted in order to nd the impact of SmartFit on the user's motivation and engagement. Results prove that SmartFit motivates users to perform physical activities regularly and helps them to lead a healthy and better life.