SweatAtoms

BACKGROUND The ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems is a premier international conference. Hjorth is an artist, digital ethnographer and has been researching the gendered and socio-cultural dimensions of mobile, social, locative and gaming cultures, particularly in the Asia-Pacific. Mueller and his team design interactive experiences that combine play, gaming and sports thinking. They combined to guide the team that developed this work and provided both the theoretical framework and expertise to enable innovative and constructive harnessing of a 'new gadget' with a long-term goal to engage people in an increased level of physical activity through new games and technology. CONTRIBUTION SweatAtoms crafts a physical object with patterns of physical exercise. It is a 3D modelling and printing system which generates abstract 3D designs by using the heart rate patterns of individuals engaged in a physical activity. Exercise patterns are defined both in terms of various bodily movements that happen during the exercise and the exercise intensity (measured in terms of the heart rate and breathing rate). This reinterprets exercise patterns as not merely statistics on exercise performance but also as an engaging prompt for the user to aim for the next step in achievable health goals. Satisfaction and motivation takes a new dimension with SweatAtoms as an opportunity to use exercise patterns as a source for self-expression and creativity. Physical objects that represent exercise patterns are an innovative way of visualising exercise and serve as a souvenir or testimony to the efforts invested in performing physical exercise. SIGNIFICANCE The significance of this research is attested to by its inclusion in this peer-reviewed forum. The researchers expect that the coexistence of crafting activity with physical exercise can inspire exercisers to be more creative and lead to a sustained engagement with their physical regimen.