peri | Devpost

Inspiration

Every week, grad tea at university freaks us out. Not anxiety, just that instinctive "something's wrong" before you can name it. We found the science behind it: peripersonal space, the invisible buffer zone your brain actively defends. Every wellness device measures what happens after you react. We wanted to catch the signal before.

What it does

Peri is a wearable disc that detects when your peripersonal space is being compressed, before you consciously feel it. It sends a quiet nudge so you can act early. The companion app shows your body state in plain language: space, breath, surroundings. No numbers, no scores, just signal.

How we built it

We started in FigJam for messy ideation before touching any UI. Then Figma Make for rapid mid-fidelity exploration: multiple versions, disposable iterations until something felt right. Final screens in Figma, presentation in Figma Slides, writing support from Claude and ChatGPT, visuals in Canva.

Challenges we ran into

Designing for a sensor that does not exist meant staying disciplined: Peri detects spatial compression only, nothing else. Designing an awareness tool without making anxiety worse meant building in silence: no streaks, no scores, no pressure.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We translated a real neuroscience concept into an interface anyone can understand without a single technical word. Every metric, every state, every nudge is written in plain felt language. We are also proud of the safeguards model: privacy and ethics designed into the product, not added on top.

What we learned

Language is harder than layout. The best interventions are invisible. If someone is already flooded, they cannot manage a complex interaction. The device does the work, not the user.

What's next for peri

Hardware prototyping with proximity and environmental sensors. User testing with people who experience sensory overload in social settings. Expanding the Scenario Shield so users have even finer control over when and how Peri listens.