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Inspiration
As a final year students approaching graduation, we find ourselves constantly reminiscing and looking back at memories from the past few years. This made us think whether those memories could do more than just bring comfort. Could they actively help regulate how we feel? Could the right memory, at the right moment, help someone find calmness in the middle of a stressful day or feel close to someone they've lost?
What it does
ECHO is a wearable pendant and mobile app that captures the full sensory experience of a moment including scent, sound, and visuals, and lets you return to the moment. During onboarding, the pendant learns what different emotional states feel like in your body. From that point on, it can notice when those states return and surface a memory that has helped before.
How we built it
The concept was developed through research into interoception and multi-sensory memory consolidation. The interface was designed in Figma, with the base prototype made in Figma Make and finer details made in Figma Design. The pendant was visualized using AI image generator called Reve.
Challenges we ran into
The biggest challenge was making the concept feel human rather than invasive. Any language around the app "tracking" or "monitoring" feelings immediately felt like surveillance. In addition considering what technology could potentially be used to take scent from the air.
What we learned
We learned the importance of tone. Within this app, we had to make something that adjusts with your emotions and non-invasive. We also learned more about memory such as how multiple senses are used. We learned that smell is the only sense that routes directly to the part of the brain responsible for emotion and memory, which is why a familiar scent can take you back instantly.
What's next for ECHO
The most natural expansion for ECHO is into VR. A fully visually immersed experience, paired with scent emission through the pendant, could create the most complete sensory reconstruction of the memory. Another potential next step is to share memories. Two people who were present at the same moment replaying it together, each from their own perspective
Built With
- figmadesign
- figmamake
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