Liberi and the racer bike: exergaming technology for children with cerebral palsy

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) often have limited opportunities to engage in physical exercise and to interact with other children. We report on the design of a multiplayer exercise video game and a novel cycling-based exergaming station that allow children with CP to perform vigorous exercise while playing with other children. The game and the station were designed through an iterative and incremental participatory design process involving medical professionals, game designers, computer scientists, kinesiologists, physiotherapists, and eight children with CP. The station combines a physical platform allowing children with CP to provide pedaling input into a game, and a standard PC gamepad. With this station seven of eight children could play a cycling-based game effectively. The game is a virtual world featuring several minigames, group play, and an in-game money-based reward system. Abilities and limitations associated with CP were considered when designing the game. The data collected during the design sessions shows that the games are fun, engaging and allow the children to reach exertion levels recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine.