This project represents the research and design process that explores how can affective, context-aware systems support mental health and minimize stress in young adults during exam periods. This is achieved by designing an interactive system for stress recognition and relief.
Acute stress is among the most significant and common disorders in today’s students. Despite the fact that not all stress should be perceived as bad, students experiencing elevated levels of stress are more likely to develop unhealthy sleeping and eating habits, exercise less, etc. Therefore, there has been an urgent need for effective stress management tools and strategies to address the adverse outcomes of stress for young people. This project aimed to do that by investigating how can we reliably and accurately detect stress and support students in coping with it using affective technologies and unobtrusive methods of data collection.
The concept uses machine learning and biosensors embedded into existing wearable smart devices to infer stress-related mental states from a multimodal set of sensory data. The information is used to increase emotional awareness, provide recommendations for stress management, and enhance the users’ home environment. Zenth is the result of designing in a way that supports people and connects them with nature to reduce stress and increase relaxation and focus.
<p-under-img> The final design consists of three digital and physical elements - a screen-based wearable device, an application, and an external optional device (i.e. a ceiling lamp).<p-under-img>
Zenth’s smartwatch and mobile application help wearers become more aware of their emotional state and well-being and reveal actions they could take to reduce their stress. It is aimed at improving the lives of users in their everyday environments thanks to its portability. Additionally, the app gives users control and protection over their sensitive personal data. Users can use the mobile application as a way of self-reflection by previewing data of when and where stress occurred and diving into patterns and specific situations. The app’s features include:
Zenth’s lamp is a background noise and projection generator designed to help users relax and focus through a combination of nature sounds and visuals. It is an ambient device that accumulates information without disturbing the user and disrupting their practice. The lamp’s projection creates a sense of groundedness by enabling users to become more immersed in their surroundings. Together with a variety of soundscapes, it creates an enchanting and harmonious atmospheric experience to help users transcend to another place and increase their level of relaxation.
Context awareness and sensitivity are two of the key attributes of the lamp. Thanks to these two the lamp assesses the amount of natural light as well as the user’s activities to enhance the environment. The lighting changes based on current environmental needs and a consideration of the user’s emotional and functional needs (human and non-human variables/modifiers). In cases where one’s functional and emotional needs differ the context determines which one to favor. Moreover, when the user is not stressed the lamp emits a soft light. By using the mobile application users can alternate between changing the light’s brightness and the intensity of the sound.
To design the system I based my design process on the Double Diamond framework and its 4 phases - Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver. In the first half of the design process (the first diamond) I used various methods for data collection and analysis. Among them were doing a literature review, a questionnaire, interviews and desktop research in the form of benchmarking. During the second half (the second diamond) I started my ideation process which later evolved into a concept which was prototyped, tested and evaluated.
<p-under-img>The insights from the online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews helped me narrow down my focus, identify opportunity areas and define the design challenge. Furthermore, the data collected during this stage was used as the building blocks for the future design. I was able to identified 4 key qualities to be integrated into the design - The design should be affordable as it is intended for students, it should work fast so that the interaction is seamless, It should be portable and ready to use anywhere at anytime. Last but not least, it should be discrete so that sensitive data is only available to you.<p-under-img>
The early stages of prototyping were in the form of physical and later digital sketches. This was an efficient way of visualizing the ‘look’ of the product. They were also helpful in communicating the vision to the target group and allowed for critical feedback before and during the design of the final solution. Later in the process, the prototypes became more advanced and developed.
<p-under-img>When designing the application emphasis was put on simplicity, intuitively, and usefulness. In addition to that, a number of considerations had to be taken into account. This included the size of the font and elements, the use of colors, and the amount and type of content to be presented. Among the most prominent design considerations were:<p-under-img>
During this phase, a tree was selected as a visual representation of stress building up and a gentle reminder to take a break and relax.
For the reality check I designed an experiment aimed at inducing stress in participants to observe their cognitive performance during stressful tasks and the effects of nature sounds. The test consisted of 3 main tasks - a memory task, a quick brain logic task and an arithmetic task. During this experiment I used a smartwatch to track vital physiological signs (heart rate and respiratory rate as indicators of stress) before and after the experiment.
<p-under-img>Findings from the study reveal that exposure to nature sounds has a positive impact on well-being and cognitive performance. Furthermore, it shows that ambient sounds are found to be more relaxing than the lack of such or the presence of background noise. When exposed to nature sounds the participants showed a decrease in heart and respiratory rates, suggesting that the soundscape and visuals had created a buffer against stress. This meant that they were in a more positive state and were able to effectively perform the given task. Birdsongs, the sound of rain, waves, and fire crackling were perceived as most pleasant by participants. The most relaxing sounds were similar with the addition of the sound of wind and thunder.<p-under-img>
During an evaluation aimed at verifying the feasibility and technical applicability of the proposed design users were asked questions intended to cover the validity, relevance, and functional aspects of the solution. Participants expressed that they consider the concept a much more efficient way of studying under pressure but acknowledged that the solution would benefit from more real case implementation and testing.