Emotion Regulation using Haptic Technology

Project Title

Emotion Regulation using Haptic Technology

Project Area of Specialization Biomedical EngineeringProject Summary

AesperoTouch is a wearable system designed to detect and reduce anxiety and help with multiple stress disorders using haptic technology.

Anxiety is one of the leading mental health disorders with the highest ratio of 3.83%.

It is a  common fact that the breathing rate of a human being is around 16 to 20 breaths per minute however the statistics change alarmingly when it comes to people who suffer from anxiety with an average of 45-47 breaths per minute. It not only results in symptoms like headache, nausea, breathing disorders, vomiting, but also can lead to various serious diseases directly or indirectly which can include brain tumor as well. 

Our product is a chest strap based device. It is small and compact. The device works on the principle of making the user practice slow breathing by generating vibrotactile patterns, which in turn reduces anxiety and stress. The device is completely automized, implicit and inconspicuous.  It also comes with a mobile application that can be configured according to the user's own statistics. The user can easily first train the device according to his own breathing patterns and other statistics using the mobile application to complete the personalization process. This results in determining the right intensity, frequency, and amplitude of vibrotactile patterns for every user. Through this process, the user can easily use the device anywhere they want to without being under any social pressure or being obvious.

We have done various tests for our project including various surveys, market research, defining our target market which is of around 26 million Pakistanis.

Our solution has it's competitors around the globe, however, none in Pakistan. Also, it is to be noted that our competitors in this area have products that are either too expensive, aren't implicit, conspicuous or very obvious.
 

Our product collectively fills up the spaces left in each of them and meets user expectations. It is a combined, portable and effective solution that keeps track of the user's breathing records and generates vibrotactile patterns that pace breathing automatically.  

Project Objectives

Our project has the following Objectives: 

1. To develop a compact wearable pacer that generates vibrotactile patterns in order to reduce anxiety.  

2. Developing a userfriendly cross-platform application for web, iOS, and Android devices. 

3. Improve the user experience and adding value to it by personalizing the application and configuring the hardware according to it.  

4. Enhanced Introspection &  Increased Efficacy. 

5. Strengthed Beliefs of the Users in our product. 

Project Implementation Method

Our project can be divided into implementation phases, which are; 

1. DISCOVERY :

Delivery of value case for the haptic regulation of emotions through an arm worn device and phone app UI

1. User personalizing vibration intensity and length and timing of the operation 

2. The consistent output of vibration as determined by User.

3. Measure and record the physiological effect of the haptic operation on the User ( e.g heart rate, breathing rate etc)

2. USER TEST (THEORETICAL)

Delivery of short survey (not more than 10 questions) to approximately 20 people to check hypotheses from Discovery. 

3. SPRINT(s):

We will have multiple sprints while using the agile approach for our product. 

Delivery of functional hardware and software In the form of an MVP that can be tested with Users against the 3 areas laid out in Discovery. 

This would conclude in a live User Test with at least  1 person for 24 hours.

Data collected, software and hardware would need to be presented and documented in a report.  

There would be many sprints, which would include one for each of the following: 

1. Hardware Design 
2. Software Design (UI of application & functions) 
3. Implementation of Designs (Software and Hardware both) 
4. Integration of both modules together
5. Testing 
 

We would be using the ETL Lab in NUST EME as our workplace. 

Benefits of the Project

Around 970 million people across the globe suffer from various mental disorders. Anxiety is one of the most growing mental illnesses of the 21st century with 285 million people suffering from it, which is around 4% of the total human population.  It has the highest ratio of around 3.83% in all of the mental disorders. In Pakistan, around 26 million people suffer from anxiety and stress disorders. 

The solutions available are either too expensive, not available in Pakistan, conspicuous, explicit or just too obvious for a person to use in social settings. Our solution covers all of these loopholes in the best way possible. 

1. It is a lowcost treatment for about 26 million Pakistani's and many others across the globe. 

2. The chest strap can be easily worn under clothes without being obvious and is inconspicuous as well.

3. The user doesn't have to be uncomfortable in social settings while using the device in social settings. 

4. The use of the device can result in better results and work ethic. 

5. It has none or negligible medical side-effects. 

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Breathing is a symmetric process. Hence, the chest placement near the lungs is the best place to put the strap on. 

The final deliverable would be a small chest strap based device. This device would have sensors (pulse oximeters) and actuators (vibrational motors) attached to them. It will be operated using rechargeable batteries. 

We would be using React Native to develop a cross-platform application to pair up with the hardware. 

The user would be able to: 

1. Connect the hardware and the mobile application using Bluetooth. 

2. The app would be able to record & store user data. 

3. The application would configure the hardware accordingly i.e frequency, intensity, the amplitude of the vibrations. 

4. Display user statistics including respiratory rate, bpm, etc.

5. The user would be able to track his record.

6. The user would be able to reconfigure data anytime that he needs to. 

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry HealthOther Industries IT , Medical Core Technology Wearables and ImplantablesOther TechnologiesSustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for People, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Partnerships to achieve the GoalRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	72409
Sensors (Pulse Oximeters)	Equipment	4	600	2400
Actuators (Vibration Motors)	Equipment	4	1500	6000
Processor nrf52	Equipment	2	8000	16000
Chest Strap	Equipment	3	4000	12000
UI Design Software	Equipment	1	6000	6000
Wires/Breadboards/Electrical component	Equipment	1	2000	2000
Battery & Chargers	Equipment	2	4000	8000
Delivery Charges & Customs	Miscellaneous	2	1000	2000
Stationery Pack	Miscellaneous	2	2000	4000
Documentation Printing	Miscellaneous	1	2000	2000
Copyright & Patent Forms	Miscellaneous	1	1500	1500
PCB Boards	Equipment	2	500	1000
DMM	Equipment	1	709	709
Soldering Iron	Equipment	1	800	800
Drill Machine	Equipment	1	8000	8000