Mobile brand management specialist Total Communicator Solutions announced a partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) IDEA Lab and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) that will see the use of the Gimbal context aware and proximity platform integrated with its Spark Compass platform for a research project in workplace wellness.
Project Boundary features a mobile application powered by Total Communicator Solutions’ Spark Compass platform that incorporates the Gimbal platform including proximity beacons with Apple’s iBeacon technology to deliver contextually relevant triggers in order to encourage the adoption of healthy behaviors within the workplace.
Using strategically placed beacons located near elevators, stairways, vending machines and water fountains the app sends messages to users at the right time and place awarding points for those that are there.
The app will send personalized messages to help workers make healthier choices throughout the day such as choosing nutritious items from the vending machine and drinking water eight times a day.
“Project Boundary looks at developing an improved wellness solution to address the needs of the American workplace,” Nayan Jain, presidential innovation fellow with HHS and ONC, said in a statement. “The installation of beacons will provide a virtual indoor environment that promotes healthy behaviors, sending notifications and timely messages for improved quality of life.”
The project is an entry in the SmartAmerica Challenge, a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow project which brings together organizations to demonstrate the potential for improving the economy and daily lives of Americans.
More than 100 companies, universities and government agencies are participating in the SmartAmerica Challenge, where each team will make a 15-minute presentation and booth demonstration, focusing on their collaborative effort and output of creating socio-economic goals of the challenge.
“Our project is an exploration of the following design intent–how might we better engage users within the bounds of where they are, and what they do over the course of a regular day at work, and get them to do just a little bit more toward benefiting their health,” Nag Murty, the innovator in residence at the HHS IDEA Lab, said in a statement.
Total Communicator Solutions designed the operational platform and mobile app, integrated with the Gimbal platform, including proximity beacons with Apple’s iBeacon technology placed throughout an office building.
“The Project Boundary team has an innovative vision for improving corporate wellness,” Erik Bjontegard, president and CEO of Total Communicator Solutions, said in a statement. “We knew our Spark Compass platform would be ideal for powering the experiences and gamification that Project Boundary desired.”
The overall research project is being undertaken for the sake of exploring new concepts and ideas in workplace wellness that will benefit the American workplace and to spark further innovation in this space.