Bee Well

Gamified neck pain relief

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DO YOU HAVE NECK PAIN? 🥲

DO YOU SIT LIKE A SHRIMP? 🍤🧑‍💻

Introducing Bee Well

A neck exercise game to help you move your neck! In the game you play as a busy-bee going from flower to flower.

As programmers, we spend countless hours at our computers—and we know how neck and back pain can cramp your style. Bee Well is our gamified solution to this common problem. At TreeHacks, we tested our product with over 20 hackers. We’ve transformed neck exercises into an immersive gaming experience that not only alleviates pain but also makes moving fun!

What It Does

Bee Well challenges you to guide a bee to a flower—all using head tilts!

  • Motion-Driven Gameplay:
    Using Apple’s CMHeadphoneMotionManager, we track your head movements in real time. Tilt your head (yaw, roll, and pitch) to control the bee’s path.

  • Spatial Audio Cues:
    Our dynamic audio engine adjusts volume and panning based on distance and direction, letting you play with your eyes closed if you dare.

  • Adaptive Challenges:
    With a built-in countdown timer and collision detection, each round provides a fun, engaging challenge that encourages regular neck movement and exercise.

Check out our demo video to see Bee Well in action!

How We Built It

Design Process our sketches

Tech Stack:

tech stack

  • SwiftUI & AVFoundation:
    For a sleek and responsive user interface and immersive sound integration.

  • Apple Core Motion:
    Capturing head tilt data (yaw, roll, and pitch) in real time from your AirPods.

  • Dynamic Audio Processing:
    Leveraging spatial audio to create realistic directional cues that adapt as you move.

Our Approach:

  • Real-Time Head Tracking:
    We fine-tuned head tracking to be both responsive and smooth, ensuring that every tilt translates into precise bee navigation.

  • Spatial Audio Magic:
    By dynamically adjusting audio cues, we help you intuitively locate your target—a virtual flower—making the experience both engaging and therapeutic.

  • Iterative Development:
    We worked together to overcome technical challenges, iterating rapidly and collaborating closely to ensure a fluid, enjoyable experience.

Challenges We Ran Into

  • Balancing Responsiveness & Smoothness:
    Fine-tuning head tracking and designing an audio-interactive experience that is intuitive and delightful.

  • Crafting Natural Audio Feedback:
    Designing spatial audio that feels intuitive and immersive.

  • Seamless UI Performance:
    Ensuring our UI remains fluid while processing continuous head movement data.

  • Building a Narrative:
    Creating an engaging story around a bee that keeps players coming back for more.

Accomplishments We're Proud Of

  • Controller-Free Navigation:
    Implemented head-tilt-based navigation—no external controllers needed. Audio allows users with low vision to also be able to play.

  • Immersive Adaptive Audio:
    Developed real-time adaptive audio feedback that makes the game playable even with your eyes closed.

  • Accessible & Engaging Experience:
    Designed a game that not only provides a fun distraction but also encourages healthier movement habits – we built something we ourselves will use.

What We Learned

  • Using Apple’s Core Motion framework to track head movements with precision.
  • How to create a fun interactive game that uses the body as a controller
  • Learning what makes people feel satisfied in a game loop
  • Accessing information from airpods and repurposing data to be used as a game mechanic
  • Gathering user feedback from playtesting
  • Building an intuitive user experience that is also easy for users to grasp

What's Next for Bee Well

These are the features we would like to work on next:

  • Daily Challenges:
    Dynamic, daily challenges that allow people to come back and continue to improve on their neck mobility and strength.

  • Expanded Gameplay:
    Add levels with obstacles, different storylines, environmental changes, and more audio-led experiences. When we were thinking about what games can take advantage of motion control, many options came to mind, from Pong to 2048. We would like to diversify the game options users have.

  • Multiplayer Modes:
    Enable collaborative challenges and competitive play for enhanced social engagement.

  • VR/AR Integration:
    Explore mixed-reality experiences to further elevate immersion and interactivity, like using the gyroscope from a headset to create a digital landscape shaped by head motion.

  • AI-Powered Analytics:
    Integrating AI to provide personalized feedback on neck movement trends and overall well-being.

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