 Luc Geurts, Director of Research & Development, Philips Design, Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
With countless people complaining their lives are too hectic, MindSpheres has been designed to stimulate relaxation and 'mindfulness'. Luc Geurts was part of the team that developed this engaging new proposition.
MindSpheres takes its inspiration from ancient Chinese meditation balls (Baoding balls), which have been used as an exercise tool for many centuries. We saw this as an ideal platform for a new proposition focusing on relaxation and emotional sensing. MindSpheres consists of two wooden balls with embedded LEDs plus a recharging dish. The idea is to make the balls orbit each other in the palm of your hand. When beginning your movements are not properly coordinated and the LEDs flash on and off randomly. But as you improve and learn how to move the balls more evenly, the LED feedback changes too, becoming calmer and more fluid. This helps relax the mind and focus on the ‘here and now’.
Within two months of starting the project, the team addressed the main elements of the concept. For instance, wood was chosen as the main material because MindSpheres had to communicate a sense of natural calm. We also decided to incorporate movement sensors (accelerometers) inside the balls linked to algorithms that would translate the motion of the balls into light patterns. This idea has been protected with a patent - an extremely important consideration if the idea is to become a valuable business proposition. The patent provides protection against illegal copying while also paving the way for new future applications.
The suitability of the idea has already been recognized. We have won a Red Dot design award for the concept, and also received coverage in the prestigious Japanese Axis magazine. People who have seen the concept working really appreciate how it encourages relaxing in a playful way and that it could easily be used at home or at work.
Although the prototype looks to be ready for market, it is still in concept phase. We see opportunity to expand the concept into an ecosystem of relaxation products, even combining it with new ambient experiences. With MindSpheres as a first concept, we see many future opportunities in the rapidly expanding market of relaxation and emotional well-being.
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