SimyBall Biofeedback Game Controller and Games Combat Work Stress and ADHD

SimyLife has launched a Kickstarter campaign for SimyBall, an award-winning biofeedback game controller that uses players' body signals to enhance their performance and concentration.

SimyLife has launched a Kickstarter campaign for SimyBall, a mobile biofeedback device that tracks users' body signals and provides them with immediate, colour-coded feedback on their stress levels. The controlled gaming options available with the device are designed to improve users’ performance and concentration.

The innovative game controller was developed as a tool to combat occupational stress in adults and ADHD in children. As revealed in a report from the International Labour Organization, the number of stress-related disorders is rising drastically. Psychosocial risks associated with work often result in negative health and safety outcomes. A cross-European study reported by the European Network for Work Health Promotion has found that mental health and brain disorders cause an annual loss of €240 billion in the EU.

This is where the SimyBall comes in. The device tracks users' pulse rate, body temperature and skin conductance to improve their perception of their physical reaction to stress and to help them identify the level of stress that has an activating function and the level that is too much.

"The idea for the SimyBall originated in high-performance athletics", says SimyLife CEO and former top-ranking athlete Andreas Chabicovsky.” Athletes use training and regeneration phases consciously to enhance their performance. But this information about our bodies is frequently lost under the pressures of everyday life. Even the knowledge that we want to do something for ourselves does not always keep us on the ball. This is where we come in with the SimyBall. The SimyBall registers the signals sent by your body and playfully enhances your performance."

SimyGames, the games that come with the SimyBall system, take only 5 to 10 minutes to play and are controlled by the SimyBall using movement interactions and play buttons. The games challenge players to complete a targeted training program and are easily integrated into the daily routine at work. The player's experience is personalized and enhanced by the vital statistics, which also determine his success in the games.

The gaming apps are suitable for adults and children alike. They were developed using insights into mental training methods that increase self-regulation skills and mental performance. Users get comprehensive support in the form of SimyCoach, a virtual coach that offers tips and tricks and helps activate users’ natural play instinct to ensure long-term success in their training results. The SimyLife app, the central coaching app for all the gaming apps, contains the SimyGames, video tutorials, statistics and additional mental training apps.

Aiming to further improve the SimyLife platform, the company has teamed up with the University of Vienna, the University of Applied Sciences Hagenberg, the University of Applied Sciences Technikum Vienna, and the Vienna Institute for Health Studies. A number of research studies are planned for 2018.

The 30-day Kickstarter campaign was launched on November 14. Hit the link to learn about the early bird packages and Kickstarter exclusives and watch the video below to hear more about the benefits of using SimyBall.