Health training prototyping

Seminar of spring 2007

T-106.5800 Seminar on Software Techniques

Recent updates

8.8.2009 Current PM&RG seminar and PM&RG education main page
5.9.2007 Notice: PM&RG arranges a seminar again in autumn 2007. For more information see the homepage.
4.4.2007 The dates of the last sessions are not fixed. If you are not registered as a student but wish to participate the final event or other presentations, please send email to to receive information by email.
20.1.2007 Notice that there is no lecture 20.1.2007.
5.2.2007 The timetable was updated. Innovation prototyping session is held 6.2. and the lecture on special groups is 13.2.
5.2.2007 Link to Mahdollisuus lapselle ry was added to the references page.
23.1.2007 If you missed the opening lecture, contact to get in the seminar and to be brokered into a student group.
23.1.2007 References page updated with eHIT, Mega Electronics and Ele-66.302 links.
22.1.2007 Notice that there is no lecture on 23.1.2007.
14.12.2006 Added information that the lectures are in hall T4.
7.12.2006 Registration to the seminar opened.
7.12.2006 Draft of homepages published( seminar homepage, timetable, assignment and references).

Time and place

The seminar sessions are held on Tuesdays at 16.15-19.00 in the lecture hall T4 of the CS building of Helsinki University of Technology. The topics and presentation material are collected in the timetable that also indicates possible exeptions to the time and place.

The first lecture is 16.1.2007 at 16.15 in the CS building, lecture hall T4.

Registration

It is still possible to register, please check the registration instructions.

Topic of the seminar

Keywords: playful interface for physical exercise, combining physical training and technology, motor coordination, interaction by bodily movement, challenges of injuries and handicaps for training, researching existing computerized or manual aids, mobile and ubiquitous computing (ubicomp), prototyping and service design.

The idea is to discover novel services for health training that take advantage of mobile and ubicomp technologies. We call the blend of health care and sport health training. This includes maintaining health, playful interfaces for training, aiding the interaction of handicapped and computer, and innovative services that help to improve health.

Mobile and ubiquitous computing have produced a lot of possibilities that should be exploited in prototyping. Examples include EMG clothes and other wearable computing, gesture intercaces, micropositioning, augmented reality, and computing power embedded in everyday objects. Student groups will build protypes and get to know state of the art the technology.

The seminar offers challenges to programming gurus, service designers, hardware experts, usability specialists and other innovative people. You may be a geek, nerd, hippie, guru or just an ordinary person, you are welcome to find new possibilities in this seminar.

Invitation to participate

PM&RG invites students, researchers and experts to join the seminar. The seminar sessions are open to all who want to deepen or update their knowledge on product development, mobile and ubiquitous computing, and health training.

The seminar is arranged as T-106.5800 (or T-106.850) Seminar on software technology. However, since the topic is relevant for various disciplines, it is beneficial to have participants with different backgrounds. Therefore, students beyond software technology are welcome and the credits for several course codes are negotiable. Please discuss with the course staff in such cases.

Furthermore, guidance for students carrying out other software engineering, information processing science and knowledge engineering studies is available in the context of the seminar. This includes

Special assignment such as T-106.5800 (T-106.830) Special assignment in software techniques and T-93.6300 (T-93.830) Special assignment of artificial intelligence
Project assignment such as T-106.5700 (T-106.720) Project in software techniques and T-93.5700 (T-93.720) Project in artificial intelligence
Individual studies such as T-106.6400 (T-106.870) Individual studies and T-93.6400 (T-93.870) Individual studies
Updating knowledge (without credit goals)

Background and relevance of the topic

Mobile and ubiquitous computing made a lot of promises already a decade ago. Unfortunately to this day almost none have been realized. The fault is not in the lack of visions (e.g. Weiser's ) or technology, but in lack application and services. This lack is due to the fact that there has not been suitable methodology for developing such services.

Innovation prototyping answers this problem. The key incredients of innovation ptototyping are balanced brokering of viewpoints, experimentation driven prototyping and modelling.

Balanced brokering answers the problem of making experts of different fields to collaborate fruitfully. In case of health training there is need for expertise of users studies on special groups, knowledge on wearable computing, programmers of mobile and ubicomp applications, etc. The student groups comprise different experts and also outside experts will facilitate the work.
Experimentation driven prototyping makes sure that the prototype proves something and is not a mere demonstration. Designing for experimentation focuses the implementation on the relevant characteristics that are implemented in detail.
Using models in the design work ensures that the work is systematic, design data is coherent, and allows sharing and reuse of the results and design data. The core of innovation prototyping is SSUR, i.e., scenarios, services, use cases and realisations.

In order to be able to create the applications and services the target area and user group have to be defined. Heatlt training seems a promising as target area and offers interesting user groups. The promise lies in the need of novel user interfaces and the opportunity to embed user interfaces in everyday objects. Keyboard and mouse will become irrelevant because of special types of users as well as playful and sporty ways of usage. It seems that embedding user interfaces to everyday objects offer intuitiveness and attractiveness that are inspiring for both the experts and, moreover, the users.

For more information please send e-mail to Email address and write "Health:" in the beginning of the subject field.

Updated: 08.08.2009, page maintained by PM&RG