STAR: superhuman training in augmented reality

Abstract

The goals of Superhuman Sports games include to involve physical activity and enhance the skills and abilities of a human through technology. They are played for fun, competition or to improve the players' health condition. To meet these goals, we designed and developed STAR: Superhuman Training in Augmented Reality, an augmented reality adventure shooter, and implemented it on the Microsoft Hololens. Our game promotes physical activity by making you avoid dangerous enemies and gather energy to deal with this threat while navigating a narrow path above lava. Social interaction is stimulated by its multiplayer mode, in which players have to work together to destroy an energy core. Player testing showed that we achieve our goal of physical exercise by making the player move at a pace slightly less than brisk walking and that the game is fun and immersive. These results show that STAR is a promising step in the right direction for the development of superhuman sports using augmented reality.