Good news for cellphone addicts, according to researchers at the University of Washington, your mobile device may soon be able to help you maintain your exercise routine.
Scientists at the University of Washington have teamed up with designers from Intel to create a new cellphone application, dubbed UbiFit. The new program automatically tracks workouts by displaying motivational pictures on the phone’s background screen that change the more you exercise.
At the beginning of the week UbiFit displays an empty lawn, but as the week progresses and the user works out flowers grow and the display becomes more elaborate. Different kinds of workouts yield different colored flowers. According to researchers, users are in charge of setting weekly fitness goals, and then are rewarded with a butterfly when their goal is met. Users can also enter workout information manually if the sensor makes a mistake, or they forgot to wear it, or they did an activity that the sensor failed to detect.
According to scientists at Intel, during a three-month field experiment they found that people using UbiFit kept up their exercise routines, while people without the display let their fitness regimen slide.
Current versions of UbiFit use an external sensing device clipped to the user’s waist. The device includes an accelerometer to sense the user’s movement. Researchers say the program is designed to run on phones with built-in accelerometers, such as the iPhone. Basically, the sensing device determines what the user is doing based on how it gets jiggled around. It then sends signals three times per second via Bluetooth to the cellphone, where the application averages these rapid signals and translates them into a 30-minute jog or 20-minute bike ride.
The folks at Intel say UbiFit could be released to the public by 2010, though the release date could come earlier as phones with built-in accelerometers become more common.
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