Designing an Affective States Input Tool for Biking

Biking may elicit different affective (mental and physiological) states. While keeping balance and attention to the road and passengers, logging events and the corresponding change in affective states should be an easy and non-intrusive task, but nonetheless precise and significant in grasping the feelings and affective states meaningfully. Four user interface design set-ups are deployed on a smartphone extended with dedicated peripherals mounted on a bicycle. We engaged in studying the efficiency and precision of each approach, considering different sensorial channels (visual, auditive, and tactile) and giving the user feedback according to the selected values for the self-evaluation of the current affective state. The Activation-Valence plane and a finite discrete set of affective (mental and physiological) states are used to model the user’s status. Comparative results over a pilot test are presented and new ways of sharing the experience are envisioned to increase the interactivity and the sense of fellowship.