Push-the-Button: Providing Control to Runners over Sonic Breathing Guidance on the Move to Enhance Usability
Vincent van Rheden; Severin Bernhart; Harald Rieser; Alexander Meschtscherjakov (): Push-the-Button: Providing Control to Runners over Sonic Breathing Guidance on the Move to Enhance Usability In: MUM '25: Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous Multimedia, 2025.
Running is the most practiced sport worldwide. Locomotor-respiratory coupling (LRC) is a breathing technique claimed to enhance running economy and experience. Recent studies showed how sounds can guide runners in achieving and maintaining rhythmic breathing. This paper explores how runners can interact with the system to maintain control over the sonic breath guidance. The system enables runners to (1) reset the guidance when out of sync and (2) adjust the instructed rhythm based on their breath cycle and step count. Based on a user study (N=24), with participants running at +10% and -10% of baseline speed and at 2:2 and 3:3 LRC rhythms, we find that the proposed interactions are highly usable (SUS scores of 82 and 83 respectively) and a handheld button acceptable for most but disturbing for some. Sounds for guidance were highly effective (MAPE below 5%) across scenarios. We outline future steps for sonic guidance systems.
