Proposal for an affective skateboard using various lighting patterns

Abstract

In recent years, ideas for more enjoyable playing through the use of emotional design concepts like affectivity and pleasurability factors are attracting attention. In this study, we focused on the effect of blinking and moving light patterns on users’ enjoyment of skateboards. An evaluation experiment was conducted to clarify users’ impressions of these light patterns using the following five evaluation items: (1) level of feeling of wanting to move your body, (2) level of feeling of wanting to get closer, (3) level of feeling of being in danger, (4) level of perception of beauty, and (5) level of preference. From the experiment, we found that there are some characteristics in impression of patterns of blinking and moving light and there is a common impression of the lighting pattern in ‘level of feeling of wanting to move your body’ and ‘level of feeling of being in danger’. Moreover, it was clarified that there are some light patterns that users preferred and felt were more beautiful than others. Based on these results, a glowing skateboard, named “Glowboard”, was proposed using an Arduino system and a non-contact rotation speed sensor. “Glowboard” shows various blinking and moving patterns with different colors of light depending on the rotation speed of the skateboard’s tire. From an evaluation experiment with “Glowboard”, we found that using the various lighting patterns is effective not only developing performance through riding, but also for evaluating skaters’ skill in skateboarding competition. The result is illustrates that “Glowboard” is effective for increasing users’ enjoyment. In the future, it is necessary to clarify the impression and influences of different colors of lighting on enjoyment. “Glowboard” will be developed using a wider variety of light patterns based on the results of further study.