Hopscotch mats keep you moving while having fun
15 Nov 2012
People are moving less and less these days. Fraunhofer researchers have developed an interactive learning system that is supposed to motivate the user to move more but in a playful way; they have combined a sensor mat with an activity monitor. Children and adults can use the system to stay fit and learn at the same time as the system records the intensity of the physical activity and immediately displays it.
The system is being displayed at the Medica 2012 trade fair in Dusseldorf from 14-17 November.
Physical activity is extremely important – this applies equally to both the young and old. People who exercise regularly are healthier, are rarely overweight and increase their power of concentration.
Staying physically and mentally fit – with the interactive learning system Hopscotch every age group can use the system easily and playfully. Hopscotch consists of a sensor mat that is subdivided into nine fields, and each field has several letters and a number in it.
The mat is connected to a monitor via a cable, and tasks from various fields of knowledge are displayed on the monitor. In order to complete the task the user presses on the fields of the sensor mat in the correct order and enters words or numbers.
Dr. Martina Lucht, a scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology IDMT in Ilmenau, came up with the idea for the mat when she saw a hopscotch grid drawn on the street.
