IoT Narrative
Our pavilion will be based around the theme of raising awareness of stress and will explore ways of reducing stress. According to the Australian Psychology Society, more than one third of people report having a significant level of distress in their lives, and more than one quarter report above normal levels of anxiety and moderate to extremely severe levels of depression. It is for these reasons that we aim to create a pavilion to help alleviate the burdens of stress.
From our research, the five most popular ways of managing stress in Australia are:
85% of people use technological entertainment (television, movies)
81% of people focus on positives
81% of people spend time with family and friends
80% listen to music
75% Read
Australian Psychology Society. (2015). APS Stress and Wellbeing in Australia Survey 2015. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.org.au/psychologyweek/survey/results-stress-and-wellbeing/
The internet of things is the embodiment of widespread connectivity. And through the use of IoT, we intend to bring people together, to engage with responsive technological installations. Our aim is to provide a platform to bring people together, through the inter-connectivity of computer devices and the internet, to help alleviate the burdens of stress.
Kinetic Facade
The onset of stress causes the lungs to provide the blood with more oxygen, affecting breathing patterns. We propose a way to encourage user interaction and demonstrate how people can have a direct influence on other people’s stress. This will take the form of a kinetic facade.
Sensors will detect the presence of people around the installation and will send a digital signal to the actuator; a stepper motor. This motor will respond by rotating to tighten or loosen a cable which will stretch or loosen a fabric facade in the centre of the pavilion. The purpose of this is to simulate a breathing pattern. When there are no people near the sensors, the facade will respond to an external data source, providing live updates on stress levels.
LED Visualisation
An Augmented Reality experience will be created to reduce stress and will be included with the pavilion. The purpose of this will be to create an immersive (being deeply engaged or involved) AR relaxation experience to reduce stress. This experience will make use of colour theory, responsive technology and create a shared experience.
The experience will continue the ideals of using the Internet of Things by collecting data from multiple sources. Similar to the aforementioned example, this experience will control and manipulate the data within a micro-controller. However, in this case, the actuator will be a series of LED strips.
Implementation
The kinetic facade will be located inside the centre of the pavilion. It will be isolated from users to ensure safety and durability of the facade. It will be visible between the structural elements of the pavilion and located above head height.
The LED visualisation will be placed around the edges of the ribs, with the light being projected up the walls of the pavilion. All electrical equipment will be hidden from view.
