WaterCoaster: A Device to Encourage People in a Playful Fashion to Reach Their Daily Water Intake Level
The WaterCoaster started as a seminar project (Gamified Life) comprising the design of a hardware prototype and a mobile app measuring the water intake of humans. Applying gamification elements, we wanted to persuade the user to drink more frequently and to drink a healthier amount of water during work time. We published the results as late breaking work at CHI 2016
Abstract
In this paper, we present WaterCoaster, a mobile device and a mobile application to motivate people to drink beverages more often and more regularly. The WaterCoaster measures the amount drunk and reminds the user to consume more, if necessary. The app is designed as a game in which the user needs to take care of a virtual character living in a fish tank, dropping the water level if the user does not consume beverages in a healthy way. We report results of a pilot study (N=17) running three weeks suggesting that our approach is appreciated and subjectively influences participants. Based on the results, we look forward to evaluating the system in a long-term study in the next iteration.