StressShark

Inspiration

We were inspired by the idea of creating a Tamagotchi-like virtual pet paired with a stress ball. Every time a user clicks the button on the fidget toy, it sends +1 to a counter. Our web dashboard keeps track of interactions, and the digital pet responds differently based on stress levels. We wanted to create a fun and interactive way for people to monitor and manage stress through a simple, engaging companion.

What it does

• Tracks button presses like single click, double click, and long press • Calculates stress levels: calm, mild, moderate, high, extreme • Shows live dashboard: real-time charts and visualizations of stress • Responds with AI-generated messages: contextual feedback to help you relax • Animates the digital pet based on stress level • Saves session data automatically for analysis or AI training

How we built it

We built Adaptive AI Digipet, a digital pet that tracks stress through a fidget toy connected to Arduino. Button presses are classified into single click, double click, and long press to determine stress levels in real time. A Python dashboard streams this data live, displaying animations and AI-generated messages that adapt to the user’s mood.

Challenges we ran into

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Built a fully functional prototype combining hardware (Arduino stress ball) with a live web dashboard • Implemented real-time stress tracking with single click, double click, and long press detection • Created a digital pet that adapts its animations and AI-generated messages based on user stress • Designed a pixel art animation system that stays crisp while scaling in the browser • Integrated data logging to JSON/CSV for future AI training and analysis • Learned and applied WebSockets for low-latency communication between hardware and dashboard

Turned a brainstormed idea into a hackathon-ready interactive experience in a short time

What we learned

We learned how to integrate hardware input with a live web dashboard using Python and WebSockets. We gained experience designing real-time visualizations and preparing stress-level data for AI responses. Additionally, we learned techniques to handle pixel art animations in the browser while keeping them crisp at different scales.

What's next for StressShark

Right now, StressShark is a prototype, but in the future we want to evolve it into a wireless stress ball with a clicker that helps people actively reduce stress. The core idea is simple: a fidget toy that tracks interactions while providing feedback through a digital pet.

Future plans include: • Customizable digital pet characters with unique animations • More stress-responsive behaviors and AI messages • Wireless hardware for untethered use • Expanded dashboard features for long-term stress tracking • Possibly integrating other calming interactions beyond clicks • Our goal is to create a fun, interactive companion that helps people manage stress in a simple, engaging way.

Built With

• ae
• arduino
• chart.js
• css
• digitalocean-gradient-ai-(adaptive-messages)
• html
• javascript
• photoshop
• postgresql
• ps
• pyserial
• python
• websockets