User Centered Design of an Augmented Reality Gaming Platform for Active Aging in Elderly Institutions

In this article, we describe the design and development of a gaming platform with augmented reality components whose purpose is to fight sedentary lifestyle by promoting active aging in elderly institutions. The augmented reality components project games on the floor where the users can interact by moving sideways or sitting and playing with the arms.. In this work, we target the design of a complete platform that can be easily transported, configured and deployed in elderly institutions to promote exercise. The concepts were developed using a user-centered methodology. End-users were motivated to participate in a study where social, economic and pathological conditions were analysed. The acceptance of the concept, the expectations generated, and the concerns raised, were assessed through questionnaires formulated both to the elderly users and to the professionals of the care institutions. Our results show that the elderly can be stimulated to practice physical exercise with the addition of fun and social interaction.