Incentivise Me: Smartphone-Based Mobility Detection for Pervasive Games

Abstract

The ubiquity of smartphones with a plethora of sensors made it possible to develop context-based pervasive games playable by most people without any additional equipment required. However, popular games like Pokémon GO or Zombie, Run! show the minimal influence context has on the gameplay besides the user's position. Furthermore, in the context of movement and mobility the distinction between different modes of transport becomes necessary both for security and for environmental reasons. In this paper we present a system that uses location information combined with public transport data to detect different types of mobility, especially vehicular mobility and uses this information for adaptation purposes in a prototypical location-based game. Our evaluation shows that our system can be used to reliably differentiate between public transport and driving a car within minutes and is able to adapt content in pervasive games according to the context surrounding the current user.

Applying and Facilitating Serious Location-Based Games

“…The availability of mobile internet has also increased accordingly. Other factors that increase the spread and versatility of location-based games are developments such as the Internet of Things (possible communication with objects via the Internet), Smart City (possible communication with sensors and services within the city) and the ever-increasing number of sensors on mobile devices [15].…”