Raya: A Tangible Exercise Buddy
2019
Raya is a tangible exercise buddy designed for people who want to work out but often struggle with doubts or hesitation. Raya helps users plan their workouts and encourages them by asking for personal motivations to exercise that day. When a user second-guesses themselves, Raya sparks a conversation and rekindles the emotions tied to their initial desire to exercise, prompting them to take action: “Guess what? It’s almost time for your (activity)! You wanted to do this because you want to (reason). It’s (date) and (time) already, so go get dressed!”
Unlike traditional voice-based systems, tangible aspects of Raya play a vital role in the interaction. Raya is a soft and cute toy-like figure in the form of a whale. Raya’s voice is medium-pitched, and it has a heartbeat. The heart rate increases to signal when it wants to communicate with the user.
Read INTERACT 2021 publication
