Tag: apps

behavior · culture · design · emotion · happiness · technology

Daniele Quercia’s Happy maps and happier travelling

Beth Kelley

Can you map your happiness?

Mapping apps help us find the fastest route to where we’re going. But what if we’d rather wander? Researcher Daniele Quercia demos “happy maps” that take into account not only the route you want to take, but how you want to feel along the way.

watch via Daniele Quercia: Happy maps | Talk Video | TED.com.

Coincidentally, another researcher is also working on this problem, and creating maps that find the most relaxing routes based on people’s brainwaves:

MIT Media Lab’s Arlene Ducao is hoping to shed some light on which biking routes promise a more relaxing ride with her Mindreader Map. The project is a continuation of Ducao’s 2012 experiments involving a mind-controlled bicycle helmet that flashes different colors depending on the stress levels of the rider.

Using this type of data city planners could conceivably better plan bike lanes and traffic signals with an understanding of where the most stressful, and potentially dangerous, areas for cyclists are.

Have you changed your commute to be less stressful, even if it means a little longer ride or drive to work? Talk about it in the comments below.

behavior · environment · Nature · technology

ParksByNature Smart Phone Apps Make State Parks Accessible Like Never Before | Inhabitat

Beth Kelley1 Comment

Buffalo appWe hear stories of people getting lost or running into dead end streets because they are too religiously following their GPS or smart phone directions. And I’ve definitely been to dinner a couple of times in groups with one or two people who wouldn’t get off their phone. However, some smart phone apps can be useful and engaging, such as apps that encourage people to get out into nature. Inhabitat offered a write-up of one such app that’s tied into the U.S. park system.

Okay, so the article is totally written as a pitch to sell the app, but why not? This is an actually somewhat useful app that gets people more engaged with nature!

Many of us remember spending summers driving to lakes, hiking with the family and camping in the great outdoors, but some of today’s kids would rather spend some alone time with their iPhones than with Mother Nature. ParksByNature’s apps engage the gaming set with an interactive tour guide called The Pocket Ranger. Available in the free Lite Version or the upgraded Pro Version ($3.99), the app features park information, weather alerts, a social network to share favorite spots and photos in real time, and safety features like Friend Finder and Alert Feature, which helps coordinate rescues if a natural disaster were to strike.

The Pro version has guided tours and hikes with GPS tracking, downloadable detailed maps and best of all, supports the park directly. ParksByNature shares the fee with the parks system and Friends of State Parks, a nonprofit partner.

more via ParksByNature Smart Phone Apps Make State Parks Accessible Like Never Before | Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World.

They are also planning to expand to zoos, museums, and other nature experiences.

Now I just wish they’d make one for all us non-iPhone aficionados.

behavior · children · design · learning · play · Social · technology

Download an Exercise Apps for Healthy Kids

Beth Kelley

The winners are in, and now you can reap the benefits!

The Apps for Healthy Kids competition is a part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity within a generation. Apps for Healthy Kids challenges software developers, game designers, students, and other innovators to develop fun and engaging software tools and games that drive children, especially “tweens” (ages 9-12) – directly or through their parents – to eat better and be more physically active.

via Apps for Healthy Kids.