Echoes of the body

A Multisensory Biofeedback System for Enhancing Interoceptive Awareness and Positive Pre-Sleep States

Team Members: Qiu Chan

Supervisor: Mirna Zordan

Echoes of the Body is a multi-sensory biofeedback system designed to enhance positive pre-sleep and interoceptive awareness. By capturing users’ real-time respiration and heartbeat signals and transforming them into visual and tactile feedback, the system helps users perceive their bodily rhythms and regulate emotions, thereby reducing cognitive and somatic arousal and fostering a positive pre-sleep experience.

Let's listen to the echoes of the Body

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During the experience, participants wore a chest respiration belt and a PPG sensor to capture real-time breathing and heart rate signals. The system transformed these physiological data into visual and tactile feedback: heartbeat rhythms were visualized through pulsating red particles, while respiratory depth was represented by the diffusion and contraction of blue particles. Simultaneously, the vibrations of the chair armrests and the inflation–deflation rhythm of handheld airbags were synchronized with users’ biosignals. In a dim and quiet environment, participants sequentially experienced combined visual–tactile and tactile-only feedback phases, allowing them to perceive their bodily rhythms, achieve relaxation, and prepare for a positive pre-sleep state.