Taking steps toward more effective fitness trackers, more physical activity

As the recognition of health trackers has elevated, so have the alternatives to make use of such gadgets to not solely observe health targets but additionally enhance the motivation to fulfill these targets. Researchers within the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Well being and Human Improvement at Penn State have teamed up to make use of management techniques engineering instruments to tailor motivational messages despatched to particular person system customers.

The outcomes of their examine had been printed at this time (Oct. 7) in Well being Psychology.

“One of many actually thrilling advances of the final 15 years has been the arrival of wearable and transportable client expertise that can be utilized to assist promote bodily exercise,” mentioned David Conroy, professor of kinesiology and human growth and household research, and co-principal investigator on the paper. “You may get real-time suggestions from these gadgets and monitor your targets, and you’ll even push folks messages, relying on what their targets are and what their conduct is. We all know that these messages work nicely for bettering conduct on common. However no one is common, and we do not know the way to verify every particular person constantly will get the best profit from a restricted variety of messages.”

Conroy mentioned that researchers have tried a number of methods, together with messages which might be particular to sure inhabitants segments; messages based mostly on current conduct—for instance, sending one among two totally different messages relying on if a consumer did or didn’t meet their targets yesterday; and customizing the messages by placing in an individual’s title or one thing they may like. To this point, none of those approaches has confirmed to be constantly efficient in bettering the messages’ results.

The brand new messaging method developed by Conroy and Constantino Lagoa, co-principal investigator and professor {of electrical} engineering, applies instruments used repeatedly in managed techniques engineering to conduct science.

“Primarily, we’re utilizing the identical mathematical instruments that folks in management engineering often use to mannequin behaviors as differential equations,” Lagoa mentioned. “We’re utilizing these fashions to design suggestions controllers that take into consideration the present state of the particular person and along with the mannequin determine what’s the greatest time to ship the messages.”

Conroy emphasised that establishing the right dosing—that means the kind of message and its timing, frequency and context—is a vital half to this method.

“We’re actually prioritizing understanding the dosing in order that we solely ship the precise message on the proper time and in the precise context so folks get the advantages that they are on the lookout for,” he mentioned. “We do not wish to disrupt them with out them getting the payoff that they are on the lookout for.”

The researchers check with this individualized method as precision behavioral drugs.

“This is likely one of the first research that was in a position to leverage information collected from every particular person and zoom in on his or her private response,” Lagoa mentioned.

One of many predominant examples of how the researchers personalised the messages was by contemplating the climate within the space of the consumer, noting that sure messages had been more practical for sure people on wet days, sizzling days and so forth.

The researchers acknowledged the potential concern folks might have about buying and selling privateness for personalization however mentioned that the automation signifies that the information can be utilized after which discarded, versus saved, and the situation settings solely have to be approximate to know the climate and customise the messaging appropriately. In addition they mentioned, if their method is commercialized, customers would be capable of alter their settings to pick how a lot data to share, they usually plan on conducting extra analysis earlier than making use of their method to a bigger inhabitants.

“We have established right here is there is a new software to make use of with a longtime drawback,” Conroy mentioned. “Our subsequent challenge will deal with establishing efficacy: Does this work higher than sending messages at random or not sending messages in any respect? However as soon as we set up efficacy, I’d think about that it might be very engaging to system producers to contemplate this type of method.”

Different authors of the paper embrace Sarah Hojjatinia, a former electrical engineering graduate pupil and at the moment at Superior Security & Person Expertise; Sahar Hojjatinia, {an electrical} engineering graduate pupil; and Deborah Brunke-Reese, analysis challenge supervisor for the Motivation Lab within the Faculty of Well being and Human Improvement.