MindArc: On-Device AI for Digital Wellbeing and Habit Formation

MindArc: On-Device AI for Digital Wellbeing and Habit Formation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article MindArc: On-Device AI for Digital Wellbeing and Habit Formation T R Chandra Sagar, Richie Antony, Kiran K Kannan, Stewart Lalu, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9363447/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Excessive smartphone usage degrades productivity and mental wellbeing, while existing digital wellbeing solutions provide limited enforcement and inadequate privacy safeguards. MindArc is an on-device digital wellbeing framework integrating real-time app restriction, usage analytics, activity-based unlocking, and gamified feedback. The system's three-layer architecture leverages Android AccessibilityService for reliable foreground app interception, ML Kit Pose Detection for real-time exercise quantification, and Room-backed persistence for offline-first operation. A four-phase finite state machine with exponential moving average smoothing drives pushup and squat repetition counting. Reward mechanisms link verified physical and cognitive effort directly to screen-time grants, promoting sustained behavioral change. Experimental results validate reliable enforcement, accurate tracking, low latency, and minimal battery overhead, confirming effective digital self-regulation. Digital Wellbeing Screen Time Management AccessibilityService Pose Detection Gamification Android ML Kit Behavior Change Habit Formation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9363447","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":620059179,"identity":"4aee4424-de08-4fc9-bbe4-cf82c1b5f25f","order_by":0,"name":"T R Chandra Sagar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Toc H Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"T","middleName":"R Chandra","lastName":"Sagar","suffix":""},{"id":620059180,"identity":"ed3e5514-674f-4804-85b8-1a3088bc18d0","order_by":1,"name":"Richie Antony","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABFklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZgY2hgQY54OBRD0/iJFQQIQWHiBmnFFhkSDZANJigNceNjAJ0sLMc6YiweAAiItHi3k787MHDyrs8uzZe49J8LZJ5BmfX5344YEBgzy/2AGsWmQOs5kbJJxJLubhOZcmIdkmUWx24+1mCaDDDGfOTsCqRYKZh00isY05sUcix0zCsE2CcduNsxtAWhIMbuPT8q8eoiURqGXzjLObfxDW0nAYouXAGYnEDfy92wjYwmYmkXDseGLPmTPGlg0VEsYSN3i3WSQYSOD2C//hZ5I/aqoT29t7DG//MaiT4+8/u/nmjwobeX5p7FqQAYsExBSwSgmCykGA+QOY4j9AlOpRMApGwSgYOQAAy9laMQWtqgsAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Toc H Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Richie","middleName":"","lastName":"Antony","suffix":""},{"id":620059181,"identity":"2ec31abc-a038-4e00-b473-5b1ea4b9337e","order_by":2,"name":"Kiran K Kannan","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Toc H Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Kiran","middleName":"K","lastName":"Kannan","suffix":""},{"id":620059182,"identity":"9301eb9c-9b14-4412-9f25-26ec33b17b37","order_by":3,"name":"Stewart Lalu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Toc H Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Stewart","middleName":"","lastName":"Lalu","suffix":""},{"id":620059183,"identity":"cb6f690c-1d77-46d6-8b36-3b692ea3e9ea","order_by":4,"name":"K D Adeena","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Toc H Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"K","middleName":"D","lastName":"Adeena","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-09 05:23:56","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9363447/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9363447/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106570754,"identity":"9a6db402-a460-4a08-ae20-e90bc7b1e712","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-10 03:31:07","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":209389,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"main2.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9363447/v1_covered_14175328-3af8-47f7-9720-c3426e719a04.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"MindArc: On-Device AI for Digital Wellbeing and Habit Formation","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Digital Wellbeing, Screen Time Management, AccessibilityService, Pose Detection, Gamification, Android, ML Kit, Behavior Change, Habit Formation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9363447/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9363447/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Excessive smartphone usage degrades productivity and mental wellbeing, while existing digital wellbeing solutions provide limited enforcement and inadequate privacy safeguards. 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