What’s your idea?

Spin the Planets Interactive Network (SPIN) is a game whereby players have to incorporate regular physical activity (SPIN) into their daily lives in order to “keep their team’s planet spinning”.

A social networking platform will be used to facilitate teams and commit to keeping up their SPIN throughout the day as physical inactivity is a major social problem in the developed world. Players will use available technologies (mobile phones, gps, pedometers, GoogleEarth etc.) to record their SPIN.

Simple shapes that they map out will also affect their team’s SPIN. Status update widgets will be used to help spread SPIN.

What’s the social need/challenge being addressed?

Physically inactivity is a major problem in the developed world. Technology has by and large engineered out the need to be physically active.

However, physical inactivity is not the normal human condition and as a result the proportion of the population classed as overweight or obese has reached epidemic levels and is now a major social and health problem. Promoting physical activity is a major public health challenge and to date has made little impact.

What’s new about your idea?

The idea radically moves the emphasis away from telling or persuading people to exercise or “working out” to focus on having fun playing a social game that is effected through physical exertion.

The recent advent of social networking tools, mobile technology and low cost motion sensors provide the opportunity to reintroduce regular physical activity into people’s daily lives.

Mobile technology will be used to make the game play immediately accessible in peoples’ lives and this will be combined with a social network platform in order to harness their power to motivate and support positive behavioural change.

What inspired you to come up with the idea in the first place?

The idea is inspired by the potential of games combined with social networks to develop a way to help motivate people to have fun playing a game and be physically active at the same time. Conventional approaches to promoting physical activity haven’t worked so it is time to try something new and different.

From 1-5, what stage of development would you say your idea was in?

The idea is at a fairly early stage (2). Various different game play approaches have been explored as have some of the current hardware and software capabilities and limitations.

What can we do for you?

The next step is for a Geek to help devise an architecture and a plan for the development of the social network platform to facilitate the game play. Depending on the size and complexity of this plan, it may then need a funder to help finance its development.

If a more generic approach to such a platform emerged which facilitated a range of game play scenarios, then a Mentor would be needed to help coordinate and prioritise the idea’s development.

If Social Innovation Camp was able to push the idea forward would you have the time or desire to take ownership of it?

I would, however, were a more generic social networking approach which allowed a range of different game play scenarios to emerge, then I would be happy for others to take this forward.

This idea was submitted by Alasdair Thin.

Alasdair is a lecturer at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. He teaches Human Anatomy and Physiology and Exercise Physiology and does research into Active Video Games (ExerGames).