With so much of the digital and web applications focusing on the mobile platform, and so much of the revenues from companies generated from 'edutainment' related applications, I am wondering what the future impact of young people interacting with mobile applications and being asked to develop interactions that involve a lot of repetitive motions (e.g. mobile games that involve constant tapping or rotation of thumbs from virtual controls).

Even though there are probably some guidelines for physical products for children regarding ergonomics and there are also methods for preventing injury in music (like the Alexander Technique), I think that this is still a very immature area for digital design and perhaps more needs to be done to help improve ethical design practices.

The question is, are there known or published guidelines for designing digital interfaces that help reduce the physical impact on users (e.g. Augmented Reality improvements to reduce dizziness and motion sickness), especially when it comes to repetitive motion that can cause RSI?

  • "[G]ames that involve constant tapping". As someone who has played Track & Field on NES, I think this is not a new consern. Why do you think ergonomics of playing mobile games differs from ergonomics of playing console games or from ergonomics of anything with a buttons? – locationunknown Aug 13 '19 at 5:00
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    I believe these will be along the lines of using more Voice Commands and audio-recorded messages to prevent looking at the screen and typing. But these will mostly not be suitable for games. – Ren Aug 13 '19 at 11:56
  • @locationunknown I think the fundamentals of ergonomics in gaming is not all that different, but console games do tend to have controllers specifically designed for optimal input whereas in many cases mobile games have to mimic the interactions and motions because there is only the screen surface that can be used in most cases. Track & Field on NES is a very tough workout on the fingers indeed! – Michael Lai Aug 15 '19 at 2:40

Yes, today there are hundreds of studies on the prevention of confusion following the use of virtual or augmented reality. My favorite is "adding a virtual nose" to a virtual reality simulator. apparently, adding a steady nose helps to maintain the gap between your eyes and your vestibular system (in your ears).


but there is really a lot of literature about this topic. you should start with Wikipedia ("virtual reality sickness) and continue with the references. good luck.

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