As the power of home gaming systems increases, encouraging kids to leave the house to play is becoming an increasingly uphill battle. Despite inventive ways of implementing exercise routines into console gaming, such as the Wii Fit and Xbox Kinect, the innovations have rarely travelled in the other direction, namely adding fun, technological game mechanics to physical play. Enter Loop, a device from design studio Pushstart that encourages children to play outside by offering them a series of videogame-like challenges.

Comprising of a motion sensor, headphones and an open source gaming platform, Loop charts its wearer's physical activity and presents audio stories to provide context for the challenges. It can also sync up with other Loop owning kids allowing for large scale games of Tag or Capture the Flag. Data such as 'steps taken' or 'action points earned' are recorded on the accompanying app where new updates are unlocked once a certain level is reached.

Loop is a great example of technology enhancing social, active play and an interesting argument against the idea that technological recreation goes hand-in-hand with a decline in physical activity. We've seen exercise apps that aim to liven up your routine, like Puma's Run Navi for example, but here we have one that's geared towards a slightly younger demographic.