As wearable and mobile technologies have evolved, there have been a growing number of services designed to help us exercise in exactly the way we want.  The latest of these apps is called ‘Walking for Well-Being’, which is a prototype app that offers planned routes depending on your fitness levels.

The app was born out of a project that aimed to provide practical, low-cost mobility aids to encourage older people to be more active.

Easy walking

The app aims to highlight more challenging routes by identifying things such as steep slopes, busy roads and uneven pavements.  In addition to walking for exercise, the developers believe it could also be used to provide more accessible routes to visit friends or go to the shops.  The app can also highlight pleasant features, whether such as parks and other green spaces.

It’s a significant problem, as statistics reveal that nearly 10% of older people feel trapped in their home, with a further 6% rarely leaving their house.

The app, which was co-designed with a group of older people, was designed to try and improve matters.  The hope now is to build upon the initial prototype and get something into the marketplace.

The project is part of a wider body of work undertaken by the team to try and promote greater mobility among the elderly.  These include sensors attached to mobility scooters to measure the quality of journey and give insight into the experiences of older people as they try and get about.

It also aims to raise awareness among the general public about how their behaviors might impact the ability of older people to get around.

“We’ve worked with around a hundred people in later life, listening to their needs and learning about the day-to-day challenges they face, especially after a big change in their lives such as losing a partner or giving up driving. Participants discussed many of the things that would help improve getting out and about in later life, and also helped co-design new tools to encourage mobility. In the context of an ageing population, it’s crucial to find creative ways of helping older and disabled people to negotiate the built environment without spending big sums on redesigning or adapting it,” the team say.