Inspiration

This project was inspired by observing a close friend who experiences anxiety and panic attacks, she often found it difficult to reach out to those people during those difficult times

What it does

Aeri is a smartwatch feature that detects early signs of rising threat perception to help prevent panic attacks, alerts trusted contacts during severe episodes, and generates reports to support better medical diagnosis.

How we built it

We began the project by first trying to understand what happens in the brain before a panic attack occurs. Through our research, we learned that panic attacks often start when the brain predicts danger even when there is no real threat present. This led us to explore the concept of threat perception, which became the central idea behind our solution. To deepen our understanding, we spoke with a psychologist friend, who provided valuable insights into how anxiety and panic attacks develop, how patients experience them, and what challenges exist in current diagnosis and treatment methods. These conversations helped us understand both the psychological and behavioral patterns associated with panic episodes. Alongside this, we conducted informal research within our close circle of friends and family members who experience anxiety or panic attacks. Through these conversations, we learned about their feelings, triggers, coping strategies, and everyday experiences while dealing with anxiety. These insights helped us shape a solution that is more empathetic and grounded in real-life experiences.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest challenges we faced while designing this tool was ensuring that the system itself does not increase the user’s anxiety. Since the tool monitors rising threat levels and signals related to panic, showing too much data or presenting it in an alarming way could make users more anxious instead of helping them. To address this, we had to carefully think about how information is communicated to the user. Instead of displaying complex physiological data or detailed reports, the interface only shows a simple threat level indicator (low, mid, high). The goal is to create awareness without overwhelming the user or encouraging constant monitoring. Another challenge was balancing early detection with calmness

Accomplishments that we're proud of

One accomplishment we are particularly proud of is that we did not create a separate mobile application, which could add more digital load and friction for the user. Instead, we chose to integrate the solution as a feature within an existing product—the smartwatch. By embedding the system directly into a device that users already wear daily, the tool becomes seamless and unobtrusive. This reduces the need for users to constantly open an app or actively track their anxiety, allowing the system to work quietly in the background while still providing timely support when needed.

What we learned

Empathy is essential in designing for mental health — understanding real experiences of anxiety helped us design a solution that feels supportive rather than intrusive. Less information can be better — simplifying complex physiological data into a single threat indicator helps users stay aware without becoming more anxious. Design should reduce user burden — integrating the feature into an existing smartwatch makes the solution seamless and easier to adopt in everyday life.

What's next for Aeri

Future versions could also integrate with more wearable devices and healthcare systems, enabling deeper insights for doctors and more personalized support for users over time.

Built With

• applewatch
• figma
• figmamake