future of personal health
Design consultancy Frog design showcases their concept for the future of personal healthcare entitled Aura. The concept breathes core values such as simplicity, tranquillity, lightness, calmness, poetry etc.
Aura was modelled against a backdrop shaped by trends such as an ageing population, the shift from remediation to prevention, a multidisciplinary (mind-body) but also more holistic approach to healthcare (Western & alternative) etc.
“Much of life is composed of daily routine: brushing your teeth, washing your face, preparing your meals. Once learned, such routines can offer more than the practical benefits; they can help people center their lives, providing a small assurance of simplicity within a rapidly changing world. Many cultures have traditional, repetition-based tools with which to meet the uncertainties of the world at large: Zen gardens, calligraphy, yoga massage. All treat the body and soul as one, using physical motion or non-motion to focus the mind. The Aura taps into this tradition in a new way, focusing the mind while examining the body to promote a holistic model of individual health.”
Aura combines monitoring, therapeutic and security modes of personal health care.
The monitoring ritual consists of looking into a bowl and humming. In the meantime Aura performs facial, saliva and voice scans to monitor mood, health, tension levels/fatigue etc. Through the touching of a semi-soft sculptural form the user’s skin, blood, heartrate, temperature etc. are monitored. Colour, sound, scent and vibrations give feedback to the senses: informative, yet also therapeutic, since they influence physical and psychological health. Moving a white chime mallet across the edge of the bowl makes images, forms, colours, etc. appear in the vessel. The user can control what appears, yet the device also learns which items aid in positively influencing a person’s mood, physical or psychological state. Repeated usage over longer periods of time allow Aura to provide security, by learning about and keeping an eye on the user’s personal health and advert him/her of problems or warn medical professional straight away when necessary.
The whole february issue of their design mind blog/zine is focussed on health, btw. Sit back and enjoy a fascinating read!
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