NEONEO Balance Ball: Designing an Intergenerational Interaction Exergame for In-home Balance Training

Abstract

This paper describes a tangible interactive prototype, aiming at reducing the risk of falling in older adults and ensure their adherence to the in-home balance training. The design of the prototype derived from our research on the effectiveness of different training modes in balance. An exergame created for this prototype, appealing to youngsters, might result in them (older adults and young people) playing together. This may not only provide motivation to exercise but also a platform increasing communication between two generations, which is beneficial to older adults’ mental health. Therefore, perceiving benefits aforementioned, older adults could get more interested and even develop a long-term habit of playing such exergame. Researches had been done regarding the older adults’ perspective when designing intergenerational games or exergames. Here, our concept focuses on involving both older adults and young people to play the exergame together. In this paper, an experimental plan has been designed to gain insights from young people for better solutions to motivate them to play the game with older adults.