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Sensing Heart Aura vol.1 ~ Microchallenge I¶
Our interests overlapped in concepts surrounding mental and physical health, and a more holistic perspective on wellness. We discussed the wisdom that our bodies hold, and their constant expression of feeling. It is important to listen to our bodies and follow what they desire if we want to enjoy living well. So, we decided to prototype a biofeedback device that aids in understanding information that our nervous systems are transmitting so as to provide tools to improve wellbeing. We thought, what if we can visualize clearly what our nervous system is expressing? Can this help us to control our bodily states and the way our minds interpret existence?
We decided to explore this concept by building a model that visualizes Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV is the amount of time between heartbeats, which vary constantly depending on the state of balance of the nervous system. Both sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are competing against each other, and the result from this balancing equation provides a value in ms. A higher value usually indicates a more balanced nervous system, while a lower value might indicate that one either sympathetic or parasympathetic system is dominating. This is expected while exercising, for instance, but might not be beneficial while sleeping. Since it is highly influenced by our nervous system, this implies that HRV represents valuable information transmitted to our brain on how our bodies should react to the stimuli it is exposed to. This could include the environment we are in, what we are feeling, what we are thinking, the people around us or the activities we engage in. There are many other types of biofeedback data that could also be considered, but we understand that HRV is easy to measure and provides comprehensive information.
If we could visualize HRV in real time, can we learn how to achieve balance?
By collecting heart rate data from ECG sensors, calculating HRV of a user, and visualizing this information in an engaging format, we could allow users to understand their bodily states and redirect them towards states of higher benefit.
See the full repo for this project here https://github.com/dhritidhoka/Microchallenge1
Prototype 1 by Antonio Heinemann
Sensing Heart Aura vol.2 ~ Microchallenge II¶
For the second challenge, we decided to do a more robust and comprehensive volume of our intial prototype for sensing Heart Rate Variability (HRV). We are aware of many of the features and potential to be explored after the first version, and decided to go all in for a second time around.
- Improved base for acrillic panes made out of wood, CNC milled.
- Improved design for the acrillic panes, for a cleaner and smoother sphere.
- Improved heart sensing data with better coding calibration and new sensors.
- Wireless display sculpture, connecting over Wifi.
- 2-part system, including a sensing module with a 3D printed case and 1 feather, and a receiving feather for the sculpture.
- Improved LED transitions and visualization.
Check out the link for the complete repository of the project here:
See the full repo for this project here https://github.com/dhritidhoka/Microchallenge-II/blob/main/README.md
Challenge 2 by Antonio Heinemann