Meditation Station

The Meditation Station was created to give stressed and overwhelmed CSUEB students the opportunity to meditate wherever they might be. To create the most immersive experience possible the team decided to activate the sense of touch, sound, smell, and sight with their prototype. Creating a console that could accommodate those features, yet remain compact and clean in design was a challenge. It required advanced skills in circuitry and the vision of incorporating the most serene meditative sounds they could curate. Three physical prototypes and several versions of the code were written before the final console was created. Hours of meditation were listened to until the team agreed upon the perfect combination. The end result is an intense, immersive experience that calms and resets the senses and leaves the user feeling relaxed.

INSTRUCTIONS

To begin the meditation, a user selects an aromatherapy tin, opens it, and places it on the chosen meditation sensor on the left. ( Rain, Brown Noise, Breathing and Counting, Om, or Humming and Drumming.) The copper tape on the bottom of the tins activates the meditation audio which would begin to play for 5 minutes. Next, the user dips their left hand into the water tank. With their right hand, they play the singing bowl notes (A-E)  located on the right. These note sounds are programmed to layer, so they overlap and continue to play for 20 seconds each. The user needs to keep their hand in the water tank to close the circuit and play the sounds. To stop all sounds, there is a reset sensor on the right side of the box.

Overall, the users enjoyed their meditative experience with the Meditation Station! They did have a few issues with the clarity of the written instructions; not knowing what to do with the aromatherapy tin was the biggest issue. Several commented that the music was “cool” and they appreciated being able to choose the Singing Bowl notes on the right side. One male participant commented that he was feeling a little stressed that day and did feel more relaxed after using the Meditation Station. The other male participant did not enjoy sitting on the floor and would have preferred to be seated in a chair. One user also mentioned that the sound was muffled, so incorporating a separate speaker was key. In addition, one female user was not able to smell the aromatherapy as strongly as she would have liked. She mentioned that having a “stronger smell like a scented candle” would be favorable to her.

CHANGES MADE

Due to these comments, the team rewrote  instructions to make operating the console more intuitive for the user.

In addition, it was noted that the sounds from the iPad were a little muffled, so the team was able to connect a Bluetooth speaker to the iPad to amplify the sound. This was a perfect solution to their issue since they didn't have any remaining ports to physically wire another speaker to the console.

The design initially used 6 nails to per meditation zone on the left. The team rewired the console so that only two nails were needed and therefore the aromatherapy tins sat more flush on the sensors.

The team also learned that once users opened their fragrance tin, they were not sure where the lid should go. Or, they placed the lid on the sensors, instead of the tin itself. 

In addition, one user tried to submerge their entire hand in the water tank instead of just their fingers. This caused them to sit at an odd, uncomfortable position.

The team also learned that people are messy! It was essential to have a strategically placed towel to catch the water drips. In the same vein, people did not like the concept of sharing towels, so disposable towels would need to be made available. 

The team reworded their instructions to include right and left-hand specifications, as users were becoming confused, and trying to use the same hand to touch the water tank and the sound bowl notes, therefore breaking the circuit. 

CSUEB RISING STUDENT JURIED EXHIBITION WINNER, 2024

with Daiana Yurzola

Media: 

Wood

Plastic Bowl

ipad

Circuitry

Makey Makey

Laserprints

Cardboard

Dimensions: 21.5" long 11.5" wide 4.5" high