UH developing iPhone apps

Wow. UH teams are developing iPhone applications:

What can’t the iPhone do? Now, thanks to a University of Houston professor, it can even count how many calories you’ve burned in a given day. A new, free download called Walk n’ Play is available from Apple’s “App Store” that allows users to have fun while burning calories. The game lets players keep track of their physical activity through their iPhones and already has 3,000 users to date.

Walk n’ Play was designed by a team of researchers from UH’s Computational Physiology Lab led by Ioannis Pavlidis, Eckhard Pfeiffer Professor of Computer Science and the lab’s director. Co-developers include post-doctoral researcher Pradeep Buddharaju and doctoral student Yuichi Fujiki. Ergun Akleman from Texas A&M University designed the cartoon characters of the game.

Debuting in March and now released in an updated, improved version today, Walk n’ Play allows players to compete in real time against another iPhone user or against a simulator and watch the calories burn off as they go about their everyday walking.

“You just keep the phone attached to your waistband or carry in your pocket as you normally would, and it records every little motion you do – from walking to climbing stairs – and translates it into calories burned,” Pavlidis said. “The game operates on a 24-hour cycle and tallies everything up daily.”

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