WeaRelaxAble: A wearable system to enhance stress resistance using various kinds of feedback stimuli

This paper introduces a wearable feedback device that aims at relaxing the user in stressful situations. The system, which is called WeaRelaxAble, provides various feedback modalities, such as vibration, ambient light, acoustic stimuli and heat in order to reduce the user's stress level. The development of WeaRelaxAble is based on two studies: At first, all five kinds of feedback and appropriate body positions for stimulation were evaluated with 15 participants. Based on the findings of this initial study, we built a wearable Arduino prototype to prove the feasibility of our concept. The experience while using the system was tested with 26 test subjects under laboratory conditions. We conclude with a concept design of a wrist-worn device that provides acoustic and visual feedback. As tactile stimulation, a shirt would provide vibration at the positions of the shoulders as well as heat at the loins. Users can explicitly activate the system at any time and in any combination of feedback modalities.