Into the Zone: Assisting Runners with Maintaining Heart Rate Zones through a Glancable Ambient Display

Maintaining a certain heart rate zone is important for athletes during running. This is often supported by smartwatches or smartphones paired with chest belts. Such devices can easily distract or interrupt runners. To address this, we developed smart goggles with an integrated ambient LED strip that visually displays heart rate zone feedback. In a within-subject study (N=11), we compared the LED-Goggles and a state-of-the-art Apple Watch. The findings indicated no statistically significant difference in the efficacy of the two systems in assisting runners in maintaining their target heart rate. However, participants rated the goggles as clearer and more helpful than the watch. Open-ended responses highlighted the goggles’ continuous, ambient feedback as advantages, reducing cognitive load and allowing users to focus more on running. Our findings suggest that ambient light feedback in goggles can serve as an effective, less intrusive alternative to smart watch feedback systems for heart rate monitoring during runs.