A VR meditation app that enhances focus through different senses by using HP Reverb G2 headset that tracks biophysical data (cognitive load, heart rate, etc.).
June 22 – July 22 (7 weeks)
Me, Zihan Wu
User Experience Design, Virtual Reality, Distraction therapy, Health Care
How can we use VR to help with two distinct problems:
Meditation is often related to stress management and peace. Hence, we decided to create a meditation application for VR headset which tracks biophysical data so that we can keep track of the cognitive load of the users to confirm the effects of the therapy.
Design an inspiring environment that is in motion, yet still calming
Provide the first time user with some guidance
Have the user focus on one singular thing
Eliminate extraneous distractions and interrupting sounds
I worked on defining, ideating for possible solutions, creating sketches, using color theory principle to enhance focus and then creating 3D models using Unity to complete the project.
In 2007, NIH conducted a research to explore virtual reality (VR) as a distraction intervention to relieve symptom distress in adults receiving chemotherapy
Patients stated that using VR made the treatment seem shorter and that chemotherapy treatments with VR were better than treatments without the distraction intervention. 82% of patients would use VR again.
ChristianaCare created special break rooms ( “OASIS rooms“) for both medical practitioners & caregivers to reduce their stress from high pressure situations which they face on a daily basis.
These OASIS rooms (usually for ICU staff) offers an environment where people can disconnect themselves from outside world.
Want to relax and do something which diverts my attention from the chemotherapy.
Chemotherapy is painful and I am bored of watching movies during the sessions.
Wants a break from high pressure situations. Wants to relax and disconnect from the outside world for 10-30 mins.
I usually meditate in the morning but it is difficult to do that in the middle of the day when I have a lot on my plate.
We started by brainstorming ideas that could be linked with Meditation and created a mind map for it. Once we liked an idea and used it for our application, we highlighted the element in the mind map to keep track of used elements.
Some of the elements that we ended up using were:
We needed two different environments:
Internal Clock
For the meditation experience, our idea was to convey going in and out of the meditative state clearly and smoothly for the user; a prompt of sorts.
While doing competitive analysis we noticed a problem and came up with a unique solution of using visual cues to guide the users.
Sudden human voice at the end of meditation is very disturbing & scared me
To avoid such problems, we used a mechanism similar to a day in the life of humans and utilized the internal clock to guide the users in the meditation instead of a human sound.
Internal clock starts when the sun is out and we tend to feel tired as the day goes on so we started the meditation session with similar approach:
As the body starts getting used to the Virtual world and its clock, we fade in some special effects to guide the users into meditation:
After a state of deep meditation/relaxation, we wake the users with another set of special effects:
Deep meditation is a type of meditation that involves a partial or complete loss of awareness, as though your nervous system no longer perceives your surroundings. Deep meditation is not its own meditation style but rather a state reached within a meditation session.
We define the state of “Deep Focus” as a state where the user the user can reach the state of deep meditation by fading away the colors from everything and increasing the focus on breathing through visual cues. This emulates a sense of nothingness and a clear mind.
The meditation should stimulate the senses in a calming way, so the user would end more relaxed, but not tired. We definitely did not to put nurses to sleep in the workplace.
Since realism is difficult to achieve in VR, we aimed for an environment design close to that of anime.
We scavenged some free assets to create a fast prototype of a minimal viable product. It was the same amounts painstaking and fun, as we would iteratively test our additions, putting on and taking off the headset to adjust small colors and details.
From the mind map, we realized that users will feel more comfortable if there is a guide who could greet them and point them to the starting point of the meditation. So I created a 3D model of a panda (spiritual guide) who can live in the space.
Since we used a lot of Chinese elements in this space, I chose Panda as a spirit animal for this environment.
I used Unity to build a 3D model and planned to add skeleton to it so that we can add motion when we include this animal in the environment.
This project was my first-ever UX project where I led & focused on continuous testing, gathering user feedback, & implementing insights into the designs. Some of my learnings were:
Lead Design: Acting as a senior designer, I advocated for design, brought industry knowledge, and guided team members. Providing an environment for independent design conclusions and supporting their growth was challenging yet rewarding.
Learn to Pivot: Constant change pushed growth during uncertainty. Limited client communication in Sprint 3 required adaptability and modified the design framework. Flexibility and responsiveness were crucial for success.
Small details matter: Paying attention to details was crucial. A brief recap in client meetings and mini tutorials during user testing improved clarity and alignment. Noticing small design details delighted users.
I would like to iterate the designs even further to have much more creative and complete project.
Bottom of the Page: Where pixels rest, dreams begin. Now, draw some rectangles and conquer the digital universe!