Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Respiration Filtration in a Full-Face Helmet for Children; Application of Gamification Methodologies on Exercise Equipment762 views
Author
Midkiff, Dale, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia
Advisors
Ku, Tsai-Hsuan, EN-Engineering and Society, University of Virginia
Garner, Gavin, University of Virginia
Abstract
During a pandemic, health concerns shift from fitness, nutrition, and medicine to
protection from airborne pathogens. There were several recommendations to protect from the
virus that included wearing a mask in public and quarantining. A popular method of reducing
transmission is to wear a cloth mask to decrease the likelihood of infection to other people.
Unfortunately, this solution does not protect the mask wearer from the virus. So, for the technical
thesis, my group focused on creating a respiration device that filtered air both incoming air and
exhalation so that the device-wearer is both protected and lessens the wearer’s chance of
transmitting the virus to others. Additionally, quarantining brought new challenges to
conventional health concerns when people were unable to exercise in a gym whether due to fear
or because fitness facilities were closed. The focus on exercise at home changed many exercisers'
methods of working out, so I focused on how gamification principles could be applied to exercise
for the STS thesis.
Gamification of fitness involves exercisers utilizing some of the components of
gamification such as competing with others or aiming to receive rewards. This can be achieved
through software rewards found in-app, buzzers that sound on the fitness equipment itself, or
even prizes that are mailed to clients of personal trainers for completing challenges. One of the
purposes of using challenges and rewards is that it can keep engagement levels high when the
conventional exercise community cannot convene during the pandemic. Furthemore, it can serve
as a proxy for classes by allowing exercisers to engage with each other from a distance. In this
regard, the gamified fitness equipment can be modified to improve the quality of home exercise
equipment, and during future pandemics, the respirator could allow exercise to continue as normal in-person. At that point, the gamified exercise equipment could improve the quality of
engagement of exercise in the gym.
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Technical Advisor: Gavin Garner
STS Advisor: Sharon Ku
Technical Team Members: Noah Rempfer, Jacob St. Martin, Ryan Gibiser, Jack Herrmann
Midkiff, Dale. Respiration Filtration in a Full-Face Helmet for Children; Application of Gamification Methodologies on Exercise Equipment. University of Virginia, School of Engineering and Applied Science, BS (Bachelor of Science), 2021-05-14, https://doi.org/10.18130/1v6j-t447.
