Pillow Pal

Concept Sketch

Concept Description

With constant pressures being placed on our shoulders everyday and an increase in demanding situations that people feel the need to succumb to, people are dealing with stressors and unwanted negative emotions all the time. These can be very hard to overcome when feeling surrounded by people or being placed in unfamiliar situations, as people tend to not even realise the distressing feelings that they are experiencing.

I myself get quite stressed and upset when things don't go according to plan and don't even notice how I'm feeling! Once those feelings come, I find it very hard to restore myself back to a calm state right away.

So, to combat these emotions, that's where the Pillow Pal can help. The Pillow Pal is pillow that senses the negative emotions a user is undergoing (potentially through heartbeat and body warmth). It uses a meditative approach to create a calming atmosphere.

Based on the particular emotion a user feels, the Pillow Pal releases a scent and song to relax the user, as well as changing colour to make the user aware of the type of emotion they might be undergoing. Initially, the song that is played will try to resonate with how the user is feeling, before gently transitioning to a more relaxed song. Once the Pillow Pal has registered that the user is calm, it changes its colour to a warm comforting white, while maintaining its soothing scent and calming song.

The Pillow Pal hopes to bring some light to those darker days that almost everyone experiences on a day-to-day basis, and to bring about awareness of recognising these negative emotions.

Resources

• https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/negative-emotions
• https://www.verywellmind.com/how-should-i-deal-with-negative-emotions-3144603
• https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-power-of-music-to-reduce-stress/
• https://www.ambius.com/blog/scents-that-elicit-emotion/
• https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/scents-and-wellbeingn5193609