New digital pet helps children get fit
January 2007
Fizzees, a new ‘tamagotchi-style’ digital pet, is being developed to help tackle childhood obesity and motivate children to get fit and healthy. With the Department of Health predicting that one million children will be obese by 2010, this project uses technology to encourage them to learn about their health.
The wrist-worn Fizzee, a prototype technology devised by education innovator Futurelab, is a character that is nurtured and developed through the activity undertaken by the child wearing it. The device measures heart-rate and motion, and uses a scoring system based on recommended exercise levels for young people, to determine the health of the Fizzee. The more exercise undertaken, the healthier the digital pet.
Encouraging children to collaborate, the Fizzees website allows young people to compare their virtual pets, swap suggested activities and find out about other aspects of a healthy lifestyle, such as a good diet. Children can also see their past activity rates and observe how their own fitness has developed over time.
Tash Lee, Learning Researcher at Futurelab, commented: “We hope that Fizzees will encourage young people to not only undertake more exercise but also to develop an understanding of what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. The project brings together the engagement of digital games and the desire to nurture a digital pet with the actual physical activity of the player.”
Tash continues: “It is currently only a prototype but we are looking at ways to develop Fizzees to make them available to a wider audience in the future.”
For further information on this project, go to www.futurelab.org.uk/fizzees.