Emoto Pod

Emoto Pod

An Intimate Space for Relaxation in a Stressful Environment

We have all been there, experiencing those days where work is endless, and rest is non-existent. This phenomenon is especially experienced at Carnegie Mellon, at a much higher level. Emoto Pod allows distressed users, to relax, and equilibrate, to re-discover their inner peace. Emoto Pod is a personal space, in the form of a pod, made for any individual feeling overwhelmed, or those who need a break from their academic or social obligations. After the individual enters the Emoto Pod, they sit down finding themselves in an enclosed, dark space and before they know it, the screen starts generating subtle, yet evocative digitized raindrops. As the user looks around, they discover that they can touch and interact with the falling particles, creating different ambient tones with each collision, by the use of a leap motion. As the user, in awe, plays with the digitized raindrops, the thoughts of work and stress fade, as the users breathing and hand motions slowly sync to the falling and sounds of the raindrops. The user has immersed themselves in their own personal space, with the ability to manipulate and interact with simple rain drops. Emoto Pod caters to each of its individual user. Emoto Pod was created to alleviate the stress of the user, but, Emoto Pod, has an even greater potential in that it gives the user a place to escape, for a moment of solitude,a moment of freedom. Emoto Pod the evocative, personal space made to help a user de-stress while making the experience as individual as possible. No individual who enters Emotopod will have the same effect or experience, presenting Emoto Pod your personal de-stressing place.

Emoto Pod: The Interactive Exhibit 

Why is it worthwhile?

Emoto Pod is an interactive exhibit that allows users to sit down for five minutes under a projected "waterfall" of shapes that cascade down an overhead screen. These five minutes give the user enough time to take a momentary break, while not taking more time that they need, the pod was meant to be used for short, momentary breaks. Sometimes all it takes is a short break, to refocus and de-stress, similar to a thirty second to one minute coordinated breathing exercise. With the aid of a Leap Motion device, the user can virtually run their hands under the projected waterfall. It is an immersive experience, which is experienced not only visually but also manually. By engaging the user both visually and manually, the user is able to user their hands while the animation is running, which then, causes the user's breathing to match the hands speed while they are interacting with the "waterfall's" droplets. Emoto Pod gives the user a private space to collect their thoughts and feelings while learning how to interact with newer technologies like the Leap Motion, and projection simulation. It also allows the user to immerse themselves in a space, and for five minutes completely let go of their stress and worries. By providing a personal space in the pod, in which it is hard to forcibly intrude when a person is sitting in it, it gives the user a sense of security and intimacy. Emoto Pod provides users with the similar feeling of having an entire room to oneself, which in the end allows for even greater relaxation since the user is not stressed by their surroundings either since the Emoto Pod space is dedicated to de-stressing them for five minutes. Emoto Pod simply put, creates a personal space, in an already defined room, into which a person can enter and de-stress privately while having a relaxing interaction with the "waterfall."

The Research Behind Relaxation

The Inspiration, and Driving Research

Physical motion, from rigorous exercise to yoga, has been shown to aid in relaxation. Researcher Wang et el. (2010) in "Tai Chi on psychological well-being: systematic review and meta-analysis," argued that Tai Chi has a deep and positive effect on individual mindfulness and relaxation. In addition, creativity and organization, when in tandem, have been shown to relax the mind. Curry and Kasser (2005) showed that coloring in mandala patterns, as opposed to free hand drawing or coloring in plaid patterns, reduced anxiety, and stress. In addition to these sources, virtual reality is currently being used to produce mindfulness and anxiety relief. RelaWorld is a virtual reality meditative experience that has been shown to have a positive effect. Considering the research, we sought to create an experience that utilized virtual reality, creativity through manipulation, and physicality to reduce stress in users. This is also the reason why we decided to engage the user not only visually but also manually.

The "Pod" Form

The form of the pod was one of the most crucial aspects of our project. We sketched out different pod formations, trying to find a form that would be immersive and not overly intrusive to the space it would be placed into. While deciding what form to choose, we took into account what shape would make the user feel the most relaxed, and would limit feelings of claustrophobia. The form had to have an aspect or side, where the images or project could be displayed. After long brainstorming sessions, we decided on a concave shape, which would be able to accommodate most of the users, and it was decided it would be the easiest and most efficient to build given the time and resources we had.

[process] Step 1:

After deciding on what materials would be the best to use, we moved forward and constructed a frame out of PVC pipe. The reason we chose PVC pipe, was because of its flexibility and affordability, considering this project was self-funded, and that PVC pipe was easy to shape into our desired frame for the pod.

[process] Step 2:

We created a screen out of cotton sheets, since the cotton sheets show the animations displayed by the projection clearly, and PVC clamps, for structural stability, commonly used in greenhouses. We valued simplicity in our project, because we wanted out animations to be the main focus of our project, and wanted the shape of the frame to complement, not intrude.

[process] Step 3:

We tested out different projections on the cloth screen before the structure was finalized, to optimize the visual portrayal and displays. Since the visualization of the waterdrops was the key focus of our structure, we scrutinized the animations, and sounds to the end, trying to find the most relaxing visual and auditory experience. One of the challenges was dealing with the collisions of the particles, and making sure that the collisions did not sound unpleasant or cause auditory distress. The most important process in this step was creating appealing visual animations while having a complementary sound output.