traces app
walk1
walk2

traces - create art while moving

Motivation

Many people have problems with mental and physical health due to isolation and working at home especially in times of the current pandemic. There are many studies that show the positive impact of exercise on our well-being. In this project we want to motivate people to simply get out and move. To accomplish it we thought of an app that connects exercise with a truly unique, generative artwork based on the individual sensor datasets provided by the smartphone.

In comparision most walking/running apps on the market focus on calories burnt or weight loss. We remove the competitive, self-improving theme and focus on the well-being of the users. Therefore appealing to a whole new audience.

What it does

Select your artwork style, hit Tracking to start the session. Once started, traces records sensor data from your smartphone that functions as an input for the representation of the movement. You can watch the artwork enfold live on your screen while moving around or let it record in the background and gerenate it later. Over time, one can collect different artworks and stay motivated to go outside for a walk, run a track or jump around in any other way. Users should also have the option of uploading and sharing their own styles of generative artworks. With this feature the app also has the potential to grow into a social media network, connected with movement.

How we built it

To get an idea of a working prototype we used a combination of Python, figma and touch designer. For building the web app we then used a combination of basic Javascript, React native, p5.js and node.js. While React Native functions as the core of the app, p5 is an easy web based accessible tool that would offer a good interface to encourage people uploading their own artwork styles to our app.

Challenges we ran into

Easy access and easy to use for all people. We wanted to build a preferably barrier-free and user friendly app, so we need to implement several possibilities to interact with the app so that as many people as possible can profit by the motivation the app may provide.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Working prototype that generates simple artwork from collected sensor data during a walk.

What's next for traces

Improve inclusion: Make an acoustic version with speech control and providing audible artworks
Build a suitable interface that invides people to contribute to this project by providing selfmade artwork styles with p5