Gaia VR
Neurofeedback VR to elevate meditation.
In response to escalating stress levels among America's younger generations, we've transformed meditation into a more engaging, measurable, and personalized experience.
We've developed a pioneering neuro and biofeedback VR meditation app that uses daily stress data to provide tailored recommendations, guiding users toward effective relaxation and stress relief.
Published in IEEE 2023
Timeline
Jan 2022 - Mar 2022
Client
Team
Adam Liu, Hyunsuk Bang, Tiffany Wang
Role
Brainwave data processing, VR design, user testing
In recent years, there has been a significant surge in stress levels among Gen Z in America.
Problem
Americans are one of the most stressed out in the world. The current stress level experienced by Americans is 20 percentage points higher than the global average. This problem is exacerbated by the persistent stress and trauma caused by the pandemic.
The consequences of this prolonged stress are particularly concerning for Generation Z, with the APA survey showing that teenagers and young adults within this group are facing unprecedented uncertainty, are experiencing elevated stress and are already reporting symptoms of depression.
Meditation is effective for reducing stress
More than 200 studies have shown that mindfulness meditation was especially effective for reducing stress, anxiety and depression. However, many people find it either hard to establish as a habit or have trouble learning the right way or feel that they cannot experience the benefits.
The pandemic triggered a 25% rise in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide, a WHO report released in March 2022.
A recent research on mental health has found that 42% of Gen Z young adults have a diagnosed mental health condition – anxiety and depression being the most common diagnosis. Around 26% of those were diagnosed during the pandemic.
The global virtual reality market is projected to grow from USD 16.67 billion in 2022 to USD 227.34 billion by 2029.
Personalized, Engaging & Measurable Meditation
Solution
With decreasing attention spans, we aimed to make meditation immersive and engaging for tech-driven Gen Z. Therefore, we came up with a neuro and biofeedback virtual reality (VR) meditation.
VR enables people to easily tune everyday scenes into calming VR vistas and focus on relaxation techniques without the distractions of the outside world. By implementing data such as heart rate variability (HRV) and brainwave power, we provide personalized recommendations based on daily stress levels and quantify the effectiveness through VR interactions and analysis at the end.
Nature help relieve stress
Gorini et al. (2010) used a nature-based VR experience in their study of Generalized Anxiety Disorder and found that exposure to nature reliably reduces the stress response.
Studies examining EEG changes in response to nature have demonstrated increases in cortical Alpha amplitude (associated with a relaxation response) when viewing slides of natural landscapes versus urban scenes (Ulrich, 1981), when viewing plants with flowers versus pots without flowers (Nakamura and Fujii, 1990), and when watching a green space versus a concrete block fence (Nakamura and Fujii, 1992).
Secondary Research
First biofeedback & neurofeedback VR meditation
Competitive Landscape
Walking through the comprehensive journey
User Flow
Visualizing user’s state of mind
Sensor Feedback Ideation
Using the brainwave and HRV sensors, we analyzed the user’s state during the meditation. We aimed to visualize the real-time processed data to make the sessions measurable and personalized. We ideated several options to make it more fun and engaging for users.
Hardware Prototyping
Gaia Band
Our solution consisted of two parts. Firstly, we built a heart rate band to measure and calculate the HRV, indicating the user’s stress level.
According to research, HRV directly reflects the health of one’s nervous system. Improving one’s HRV means improving their ability to adapt to changes and stress, whereas declining HRV indicates that they are burning out. Based on users’ stress levels, users would get personalized meditation suggestions when they enter the meditation application.
Gaia Facial Interface
Secondly, an EEG device was used to measure the users’ brainwave signal so we can know how well they are doing in the meditation session. We chose the Alpha wave since it is often associated with a calm and lucid state of mind. The users’ interaction in the VR is based on their relative Alpha wave recorded via the Muse 2 headband.
Muse 2 (EEG headband to
measure brainwave signal)
Design Iteration
Wireframes
We started with wireframes to outline the layout and hierarchy of contents on VR screens.
VR design using Unity
INTRO SCREEN
END OF A SESSION
COLLECTIONS
Low-Fi Prototyping
We used vines at first but realized that vines don’t have a set endpoint, which makes it harder to serve as a clear and measurable marker of accomplishments.
Style Exploration
We explored several styles from low, medium to high poly and the overall look and feel. We decided to go with the low ploy considering the rendering size and latency.
Lighting
We tested with several lighting styles based on the ambience we wanted to create for each meditation type.
Themes
We designed different themes based on the types of meditation to provide diverse and engaging experience while making user’s world more eclectic.
SLEEP MEDITATION
FOCUS MEDITATION
RELAX MEDITATION
Final Solution
1. Track your daily stress level
Holistic solution for enhanced meditation.
During the day, users wear Gaia Band to obtain their HRV data (through the processing model we built) and their stress levels would be recorded.
2. Dive into Gaia VR and get personalized recommendation
Then, users wear our integrated headset. According to their stress level, Gaia VR would suggest them which meditation they need.
Gaia VR & Headset
(EEG Band + Meta Quest 2)
3. Meditate with real-time feedback
We processed the brainwave data to obtain the relative alpha values during the meditation. Based on the values, real-time feedback is provided such as growing flowers. The more effective the meditation is, the more interesting elements will appear.
After the session, the app shows the meditation process, duration of the effective periods, number of markers triggered, and milestones achieved.
4. Comprehensive analysis at the end
Each meditation session is archived and added to the world map. The users can continually expand their world as they meditate. We provided multiple themes to create a rich experience and motivate users to make it a long-term habit.
5. Explore the world you created
Final Demo
Project Wrap-Up
Reflection
VR Design in Unity
Designing in Unity presented a novel challenge. I learned to construct 3D models, incorporate them into Unity scenes, and script their animations to bring them to life.
Brainwave Sensor and Signal Processing
I was responsible for the neurofeedback integration in the project. I measured the brainwave signals using an EEG device (Muse 2) and processed the data to get the relative Alpha power to determine how calm and relaxed the user is. I sent the processed data to the server (Google Firebase) and retrieved it in Unity to trigger the real-time visual feedback in VR.
Hardware & Software
Product Design
I took a multidisciplinary role in this project. While I led the VR design, I also took a large part in the initial stages including the problem discovery, secondary research, and solution scoping. I also took part in the development part: brainwave processing and implementation. This helped me gain knowledge and experience in the overall design process of a hardware and software product as a researcher, designer, and developer.
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