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Seeing fit: tracking and visualizing fitness data

About the project

This 2005 research project for Intel's User-Centered Design group investigated how new devices – wearable and otherwise – might help promote physical activity. Instead of helping extremely active people optimize their training, or extremely sedentary people cope with health problems, it instead targeted the vast majority of Americans: those who could "use a little more exercise." 
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Seeing fit: visualizing physical activity in context

This paper describes the results of a three month study of physical fitness in the United States. Using a literature review, blog readings, interviews, and diary studies, the authors identify key challenges and opportunities for technology to support fitness behaviors. Results focus on implications for the design and implementation of personal health visualization software.

Goodman, E., Foucault, B. 2006. Seeing fit: visualizing physical activity in context. In CHI’06 EA: 797-802.

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Familiar Strangers

About the project

As humans we come to understand the places around us using a myriad of observable cues, such as public-private, large-small, daytime-nighttime, loud-quiet, and crowded-empty. Unsurprisingly, it is the people with which we share such spaces that often dominate our perception of place. Sometimes these people are friends, family and colleagues. More often, and particularly in urban public spaces, the individuals who affect us are ones that we repeatedly observe and yet do not directly interact with – our Familiar Strangers.

This research project explored the often ignored yet very meaningful relationships with Familiar Strangers. Several experiments and studies led to a design for a personal, body-worn, wireless device that extends the Familiar Stranger relationship while respecting the delicate, yet important, constraints of our feelings and relationships with strangers in public places. Sponsored by Intel Research from 2003–4, with Eric Paulos.

More complete information on the Familiar Strangers project

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