Following an exploration of the concepts of proprioception and music we designed a device to aid group brainstorming and enhance team harmony in creative contexts.
Ritmoception leverages the haptic feedback generated by bone conductors and muscle stimulation patches to amplify group focus, empathy and support harmonious decision making and conflict management.
In the research phase one of the key insight was that creative minds need a controlled white noise background in order to maintain high levels of focus. Moreover we investigated the relationship between individual and group rhythms. We found out that the same rhythm facilitates communication, but a “tuning in” phase is required, when each user transitions from their own rithms.
Through a modular suit of sensor and actuators the user can select the biologic data that wants to share with the group (heartbeat, breathing rhythm, blinking pattern) and the surface that he wants to cover with the actuators.
The bio-data is sent to a computer that matches the pattern to a song in the user’s library.
The song gets processed and the different melodic component become the input of the haptic feedback suite. Whereas the whole group experiences the same rhythm.
We carried out extensive qualitative tests for Ritmoception, they shown that the device is especially useful in raising energy levels, awareness and dynamicity in the group discussion.
We also compared group with individual performance and we found that this device can aid also singular brainstorming activity.
