Stroll

Stroll: Walk freely, Live fully

Stroll enables screen-free navigation and encourages walking for mental and physical well-being. In today’s tech-heavy world, people crave balance and self-care. Our discovery survey revealed that 92% experience Technology Overload weekly, with more than half reporting it daily. Instead of relying on maps or constant notifications, Stroll’s haptic clips guide users along personalized routes with gentle pulses. Walking becomes an intentional, restorative act—free from screen distraction.

Addressing Tech Overload with Calm Technology

Technology Overload drives people to seek balance. While walking improves focus and clarity, smartphones often disrupt the experience. Stroll applies Calm Technology principles—design that communicates peripherally, requiring minimal attention while remaining effective (Case, 2016). Instead of visual directions, gentle haptic pulses on left or right clips indicate turns, engaging muscle memory and reducing cognitive load. This fosters presence and supports mindful walking as digital detox.

Walking is a restorative practice, yet technology often detracts from its benefits. Survey respondents cited exercise, fresh air, nature, and mental clarity as their main motivations, but one in six cell phone users has bumped into someone due to distraction (Madden et al., 2010). Safety also emerged as a key barrier: while 85% of participants were interested in screen-free navigation, many worried about the inability to make emergency calls. Stroll addresses this with safety features inspired by AirTag and InvisaWear, allowing automated location alerts with a simple double-press—balancing disconnection with security.

Generative AI as a Digital Detox Coach

To enable a device such as a smartphone to do everything, we have to take it everywhere and be ready to engage at any moment. Stroll is a tool with a singular purpose, and therefore temporal—its wearable device is expressly used for walking, and the accompanying app was conceived as the main platform for engagement with Stroll’s AI coach. The team’s design iterations stripped away non-essential features and adjusted the positioning to embody three values: simple, reliable, and friendly.

The coach provides personalized walking routes and long-term habit formation advice, confining this interaction to the app. Stroll protects the sanctity of the walking experience as a restorative practice of self-care, rather than a commute or exercise to get through or to combine with artificial inputs. Just because an AI coach is not constantly present does not mean it cannot be a motivator. Stroll’s power lies in calm technology and the trust that when people return to a more natural manner of walking, the resulting benefits, curated by the app, reinforce its positive impact. The app rewards achievements in walking and reduced screen time, generating unique badges.