Pedro Centieiro

A location-based multiplayer mobile game to encourage pro-environmental behaviours

This paper explores the use of persuasive technology concepts to induce behaviour changes towards a better environmental consciousness, through mobile phones and public displays. More specifically, the paper reports the design, development and evaluation of Gaea, a location-based multiplayer mobile game, which prompts people to recycle virtual objects within a specified spatial context. Initial user tests were conducted to evaluate Gaeas persuasive ability during a small-scale event. Later on, Gaeas usability, and primarily its gameplay, were evaluated more extensively, in the context of an open day event at our University campus attended by 7000 high school students. The results obtained from the user tests were very positive, and may give a considerable contribution to the future development of persuasive applications, regardless the area of study.

If you can feel it, you can share it!: a system for sharing emotions during live sports broadcasts

The exchange of opinions through chat-based services or social networks while watching TV shows has become a common practice. However, the use of these platforms requires users to shift their attention from the TV to whatever device they are accessing them with. This may be a problem in the case of live sports broadcasts, since it can cause users/viewers to miss important events. Addressing this issue, we introduce WeFeel, a system that enhances the experience of remote spectators of broadcasted sports events, by allowing them to share their opinions and emotions with friends through the TV screen using a mobile device. Results from user tests were highly positive, with participants manifesting great interest in using WeFeel.

Enhancing remote live sports experiences through an eyes-free interaction

When using mobile screen apps on touch-based mobile devices to interact with live sports TV broadcasts, people need to keep an eye on those devices, since they do not provide tactile feedback. If the app on the mobile screen requires user interaction when something exciting is about to happen on the TV screen, the user needs to shift attention from the TV to the mobile screen, spoiling the whole experience. This paper presents WeBet, a mobile game that prompts users to bet if a goal is about to happen during a football match, without requiring their visual attention. WeBet aims to study if this concept conveys an exciting user experience by allowing a natural interaction with the mobile screen without looking at it. Results from a preliminary user test helped to validate our approach and identified important refinements for future work.

A gesture interface game for energy consumption awareness

Decreasing the energy consumption is an important goal for environmental sustainability. This paper describes MAID (Motion-based Ambient Interactive Display), an interactive public ambient display system, driven to motivate behavior changes regarding domestic energy consumption, through a persuasive game interface based on gesture recognition technology. The developed prototype guides players through the different rooms of a house, where they have to find out what is wrong and practice the correct actions to save energy, using similar gestures to the ones they would use in the real world to achieve the same goals. The system provides feedback regarding the consequences of each action. The paper also describes and presents the results of a user evaluation study performed during an open day event, attended by 6000 high school students, at our University Campus.

Applaud having fun: a mobile game to cheer your favourite sports team

This paper describes the design, implementation and evaluation of a multiplayer mobile game that enhances the remote fans experience during a live sports event broadcast. This prototype, called WeApplaud, encourages users to participate in the applause happening in the stadium, increasing their levels of fun and immersion in the live event. To achieve these goals, we explored the use of persuasive technology, together with the second screen concept, in order to create a motivating and innovative experience for the users. To test the WeApplaud concept, guide the systems design and evaluate users reactions, we conducted preliminary user tests. Results helped to validate our approach, but also identified some important refinements to be considered in future developments.

Changing environmental behaviors through smartphone-based augmented experiences

A significant part of the population is still not aware of the sustainability problems that our planet is facing, so it is important to inform people about the theme while persuading them to change their behavior and acquire pro-environmental attitudes. This work intends to alert citizens to these issues in a fun and immersive way through the use of mobile devices, more specifically smartphones, and augmented reality technology which will provide the user with informative insight about the surrounding environment, while highlighting the environmental threats. This paper presents a system that works like an environmental scanner, allowing users to inspect their surroundings with their mobile devices in search of pollution sources. When detected the system provides users with additional information and allows them to virtually clean these pollution sources. In addition it is intended to positively reinforce pro-environmental actions using a system of rewards and a virtual character that will interact and motivate the users.

Automatic Generation of Sport Video Highlights Based on Fan's Emotions and Content

With the widespread use of social networks, sharing emotions has become easy and accessible to anyone with a smartphone or a computer. In this paper, we present a system capable of generating automatic highlight videos of sports match TV broadcasts based on the emotions shared by the spectators during the match, the audio, the analysis of the movement and manual annotations (when available). Our system also allows for the user to query the video to extract specific clips, such as dangerous attacking plays of a certain team. Our preliminary results were encouraging, showing that the creation of these summaries can be successfully done in very short time.

Bringing the sport stadium atmosphere to remote fans

While watching live sports broadcasts we do not feel so emotionally connected with the performers and the in-venue fans as if we were watching it live, where the event takes place. Moreover, both remote and in-venue fans do not share a social connection, resulting in defragmented social experiences. This work intends to establish a new paradigm that explores the use of mobile devices to enhance remote fans? interaction with a live event. This new paradigm will provide them with an emotional and social experience by bringing the stadium atmosphere, its immersion, and emotional levels, to remote supporters. As a result, remote fans will be more engaged in the broadcasted sports, and both, remote and in-venue, fans will all feel part of the same community.

Synchronising Live Second Screen Applications with TV Broadcasts Through User Feedback

A common issue on live sports TV broadcasts happens when a viewer hears a neighbour screaming a goal before watching it on his TV. Similarly, viewers will also have a disruptive experience if a second screen application, designed to present information synchronised with the live TV broadcast, displays information beforehand. This paper presents a simple and universal synchronisation mechanism for second screen mobile applications, which does not rely on automatic content recognition, but rather on user feedback to help users achieve a pleasant and effective second screen experience. Results from user tests helped validate our approach, as users were able to synchronise a mobile application with a simulated live TV broadcast, with different delays.

Adaptation to TV Delays Based on the User Behaviour towards a Cheating-Free Second Screen Entertainment

Recent advances in technology created new opportunities to enhance TV personalization, providing viewers with individualized ways to watch TV and to interact with its content. Second screen applications are promising vehicles to enhance the viewers’ experiences, but researchers need to take into account the effect that the TV delay has on viewers, in particular when watching broadcasted live events. In this paper, we propose a software-based solution to deal with TV delays. It is mainly directed for a gaming context in which the user has the means to control the synchronisation between the second screen application and the TV content. Taking this scenario into account, we implemented a cheating-detection mechanism to cope with the potential exploitation of the system by its users.