A study of the correlations between Augmented Reality and its ability to influence user behavior

Video game play is traditionally associated with sedentary activity, but it may be possible in the new mobile, ubiquitous game play paradigm to encourage users to engage in healthy exercise. Augmented Reality may be an ideal vehicle for this type of change, as it can add virtual game elements to a user's physical world. In this paper, we leveraged concepts drawn from mobile health monitoring as well as game design to discover whether a mobile platform with Augmented Reality game elements could have a greater effect on user health behavior than a platform with no ties to the physical world. We created a game (Imaginary Dragon) which allowed the user to care for a virtual pet by engaging in short breaks from sedentary activity. In a short term 30 person study, users indicated a strong preference for the game that contained AR elements. In a longer term study of 15 participants, it was found that the game with AR elements was used approximately ten times more than the game without AR elements.