ActiThings: Reminders for physical activity exercises in daily lives of inactive older adults

Physical activity is a key aspect of healthy ageing. However, following a strict workout regimen requires much motivation and is a considerable threshold for inactive persons. A relatively simple set of exercises that can easily be integrated in daily life and routine already provides good health results and is therefore suitable as a low-threshold start into physical activity for yet inactive persons. However, performing these exercises can easily be forgotten in daily life. We therefore developed a system that senses opportune moments for exercises and reminds persons to perform them. We conducted a comparative study in 19 households with and without technology over a timespan of 12 weeks, observing the use of the system, and asking about experiences with the technology. We identify challenges regarding, amongst other, the configurability of the system, the definition of opportune moments, design of reminders in daily lives, and the co-design of interventions.