Relaxing Garden

Inspiration

We were inspired by the idea that biofeedback doesn’t need to feel clinical or intimidating. Augmented reality provides a uniquely soothing space where physiological signals become gentle, visual experiences. We realised that by combining AR with heart rate data, we could transform stress-management sessions into something beautiful, immersive, and truly relaxing. Instead of charts and numbers, users see a garden that reflects their inner state. A calming environment that promotes slow breathing and emotional balance.

What it does

Relaxing Garden translates your heart rate and heart rate variability into a dynamic, mixed-reality environment with a personal touch. Users can draw their own leaf shape on paper, which the system detects and incorporates into the plants that flourish in their AR garden. As you relax, your custom leaves unfurl, new plants sprout, and the digital landscape grows increasingly lush and vibrant. When your arousal levels rise, growth slows, providing intuitive feedback on your body’s stress response. This experience feels playful, not clinical, making relaxation practices approachable for beginners and engaging for experienced mindfulness users alike.

How we built it

We connected a heart rate monitor and used both HR and HRV measurements to calculate a continuous relaxation score. This score reflects moment-to-moment changes in physiological arousal. We developed a lightweight Flask API to stream this data into a Unity-based AR environment, where custom growth shaders and procedural generation logic respond to the user’s relaxation state in real time. As a result, the garden changes fluidly as the user breathes, focuses, and relaxes.

Challenges we ran into

One of the challenges was accurately detecting and rendering the shapes of the leaves. Ensuring the organic outlines stayed crisp, responsive, and natural required fine-tuning both the procedural geometry and the smoothing of sensor input. We also needed to avoid sudden growth jumps, calibrate HRV thresholds for different users, and maintain a tranquil atmosphere, even when data fluctuated rapidly.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that Relaxing Garden feels peaceful from the moment it loads. It’s a space where technology truly supports wellbeing. The garden grows in a way that is both vibrant and unobtrusive, and the biofeedback loop functions reliably for all users. We’re especially pleased with how seamlessly physiological data integrates into the AR visuals, resulting in a calming experience that feels both magical and scientifically grounded.

What we learned

We learned how sensitive HR and HRV signals are, and how much careful smoothing and interpretation they need. We also found that users respond strongly to subtle design choices: soft motion, gentle colours, and gradual growth patterns significantly enhance feelings of calm. Most importantly, we discovered that biofeedback is much more engaging when presented as a soothing interaction rather than as a performance metric.

What's next for Relaxing Garden

Next, we plan to expand the garden’s ecosystem by incorporating a wider variety of plant species, introducing seasonal environments, and enabling user-customizable growth patterns. We are also exploring deeper personalisation through baseline HRV profiles and adding support for more sensors, such as respiration belts and skin conductance monitors. Additionally, we hope to introduce shared “relaxation sessions,” allowing multiple users to cultivate a peaceful space together. Our goal is to continue transforming physiological data into visual, motivating, and genuinely helpful tools for wellbeing.