SPECIAL TOPIC
dose of fun exercise, the augmented
climbing wall could also be utilized for
improving motor skills. This is still a
work in progress. The challenge is in
designing an effective human-computer
interface for providing meaningful
feedback about human movement while
climbing. When implemented correctly,
computer-generated augmented feedback
can both motivate and guide motor-skill
learning [ 3, 4]. Without feedback, the
learner may not fully understand what
their body is doing and what to improve
when practicing new skills.
Currently our augmented climbing
wall provides the possibility of an
automatic video replay of a previous
climb with a side-by-side comparison
to a model performance, which has
been shown to be beneficial in other
sports [ 5]. Our future directions
include visualizing relevant
movement parameters in the video
or directly on the wall. This should
allow more detailed feedback, for
example, pinpointing and visualizing
differences between expert and
beginner performances.
One important source of motivation
in exercising is social contact. For
example, the augmented wall can be
used for sharing user-created routes
and high scores. It is also possible to
provide performance statistics for
competing with others and for following
individual improvement over time. We
further believe an augmented exercise
environment should be interesting
for an audience. It could provide
information about performance,
enable the audience to interact with
the climber, and keep other climbers
entertained while waiting.
We expect the combination of
real-time video analysis and video
projections will be utilized in a variety
of sports in the future. For example,
many sports, such as gymnastics,
dance, and football could benefit from
interactive floor projections. A related
and recent commercial application is
Nike’s House of Mamba, a full-size
basketball court covered with LED
displays for interactive graphics.
FUTURE OF HCI,
SPORTS, AND GAMES
What seems to be lacking is a closer
connection between human-computer
interaction (HCI) and sports science,
especially sports and exercise
psychology. Although the motor-
to make the training more engaging
without negatively affecting learning.
In light of these results, we suggest that
extra empowerment should be studied
more in the design of human-computer
interfaces for exercise and sports.
CLIMBING WITH CHAINSAWS
Games and technology can also
bring climbing walls to life. We have
developed an augmented climbing
wall (Figures 2 and 3) that consists
of a projector, a depth camera, and a
computer for analyzing the climber’s
movements, providing feedback
about the climber’s performance,
and creating meaningful tasks for the
climber [ 2]. The system can be used to
project interactive graphics on the wall,
such as chainsaws, which a climber
needs to avoid.
Climbing can be thought of as a
spatial puzzle solved using the body.
The climbing routes (called problems
in bouldering) are analogous to game
levels. Interactive graphics can add
new kinds of problem solving to the
wall, which would not be possible
with climbing holds only. Interactive
graphics can create a new temporal
dimension to climbing, for example,
waiting for a moving chainsaw to pass.
Events can also be triggered depending
on what a climber does on the wall.
These elements can make training
more fun and motivate spending more
time on the wall. Space can be saved,
as a small wall can host long (or even
infinite) routes with holds automatically
revealed while the climber progresses.
As games are played using real
climbing movements, they benefit non-
augmented climbing as well.
In our user experiment, a game of
“chasing chainsaws” was seen to make
the climbing practice fun—“Game
feeling makes it fun”—however, it
changed the climbing experience.
Veteran climbers commented, “Not
climbing anymore. Rushing from
one big hold to another and keeping
eye on the saw.” Playing a chainsaw
game is likely to increase endurance
and strength but less likely to develop
perfect technique.
In addition to getting one’s daily
Figure 3. An augmented climbing wall enables creating and sharing projected climbing routes
(left) and adding interactive graphical elements for creative full-body gameplay (right).
Figure 2. The augmented climbing wall concept with projected graphics and body tracking for
interaction and augmented feedback.