The simple presence of a cell phone with active notifications can be enough to cause distraction. A message, an email or a piece of news arrives and, quickly, the gaze previously focused on the notebook with the material for the test or the report on the computer shifts to the small screen, taking around 20 minutes before attention on the previous task can be resumed, according to a study by UNESCO. It was this problem that Kristjan Stopar, from Slovenia, set out to solve, through Humanodoro – a small mat that works as a “mobile phone parking lot”.
“For those who spend a lot of time on the screen or who want to do something without the distraction of their cell phone, they can set a timer in the application and, when they place their cell phone on the mat, which detects it, the time starts counting”, explained Kristjan to Expresso, during his visit to Lisbon for the Web Summit. “And then they cannot touch their cell phone, if they lift it off the mat or leave the application the system detects it and they fail the mission”.
The system works on any cell phone that has NFC technology (the wireless technology that allows data to be exchanged between two nearby devices, generally known as contactless) and others application it integrates several features that aim to motivate the user to reduce screen time. Among them is the timer, the main function, which presents predefined options between 15 and 180 minutes of pause, offering points in exchange for the time the cell phone is at rest.
A cell phone placed under the Humanodoro rug
Humanodorus
Furthermore, for each daily break, the user receives streaks – a model already explored by other applications in which (consecutive) days of use are counted through the emoji of a flame (for example, if the emoji appears next to the number 5, it means that the user used Humanodoro for 5 consecutive days, returning to zero if there is a break in the routine).
“You can collect these flames, see your progress and that of your friends, and compete with them. It’s almost like a game that tries to take you away from your phone and gives you at least 15 minutes a day to focus on other things”, he explains. “And we’ve seen that, after having used it six or seven days in a row, users really don’t want to lose their streaks”.
The application is available for Android and iOS cell phones and the mat is being sold on both the platform Amazonfor users in USAof course website Humanodoro, which distributes throughout Europe, with prices between 14.90 euros (plastic mat) and 29.90 euros (wooden mat).
“Our best customers say they save 200 minutes a day”, guarantees the founder. “Basically we have three main types of users: studentswhich they use to concentrate on books or studies; professionals, who use it while working on the computer, and families, who generally use it with their children so that no one is on their cell phone when it’s time to eat, for example”.
Data available on website indicate that users gained an average of 81.3 minutes per day, 20.5 days per year and 4.5 years in a lifetime of 80 years. “It’s my timer when I’m working. to studythe biggest change is that now I think twice before taking my cell phone off the mat, to see if I can study without interruptions for a little longer”, reports Nina, a user.
Nina shares a photo of her Humanodoro, while studying
Humanodorus
Kristjan also reveals that Humanodoro, co-financed by European Union (EU), is working on new features, including a “cute mascot that gets upset if you use your phone too much”, similar to the Duolingo app.
Text written by André Sousa and edited by Pedro Miguel Coelho