Future Spaces Vision Lab
Fire-Works
An Interactive System Based on Breathing Patterns to Support Social Interactions Among the Oldest Old Living in Long-Term Care Facilities
Authors: Xi Zhang, Jiakun Pei, Chuisong Chen, Seungwoo Je, Mirna Zordan*
Published on CHI EA '25: Proceedings of the Extended Abstracts of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Article No.: 279, Pages 1 - 7
https://doi.org/10.1145/3706599.3719754
For the "oldest old" living in Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities, declining physical and cognitive abilities often make it challenging to engage in social interactions with other residents. This paper presents a bio-feedback system as a technology probe that allows four users to visualize their breathing and synchronize with each other to trigger social interactions through their bodies. We conducted an exploratory study in an LTC facility through five interactive workshops that included twenty older adults, 16 of them aged 80 and above. Our research reveals that this interactive system employs easy breathing techniques to empower elderly residents with a sense of control, allowing them to engage in verbal and non-verbal social interactions. This interactive breathing-based system shows great potential as a technology-mediated intervention deployable in LTC environments.
The system is designed for four users to engage simultaneously, capturing each user’s breathing data through a breath belt equipped with piezoelectric sensors and visualizing it as “fireworks.”
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The "fire-works" expand and contract in rhythm with each user’s breathing pattern, reflecting their individual pace. When users synchronize their breathing rhythms, additional interactive effects are triggered, enhancing the overall experience.
