Mindfulness Fountain
Tools
Unity, EEG Sensors, HoloLens, and 360° VR camera
OVERVIEW
Mindfulness Fountain is an immersive experience that teaches how to simulate human delusions, and how meditation can help reveal true reality using Mixed Reality and Brain-Computer Interface.
INSPIRATION
The Washington Square Park Fountain can be viewed as a symbol of our minds. Sometimes, the fountain flows full of
water and during others, there are musicians or magicians performing in the center or the fountain is the center for political
protests. Despite the numerous varying events that occur at the fountain, it is really only a fountain. Similarly, our minds are
continuously coming up with various thoughts and desires.
HOW I CREATED A VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE
In order to create the virtual experience, I first did a 360°scan of the fountain using a Insta360 Pro , VR camera.
Then, two scenarios are portrayed:
1) the fountain filling up with water and
2) a blizzard both utilizing virtual augmentations.
The EEG sensor measures the user’s level of concentration. If the user focuses, the distracting scenery disappears
so that in the end only the fountain is left. The more the user relaxes, the faster they can reach the true state of reality. If the user does not achieve a level of mindfulness in a timely manner, they will be warned with a blinking red light to alert the user that they may lose their life.
360° 3D scan of the fountain using a VR camera (Insta360 Pro)
Filling up the fountain with water and a blizzard both utilizing virtual augmentations.
User Test
EXPERIENCE WALK TRHOUGH
1. The user sits in the middle of the fountain at Washington Square Park wears the HoloLens headset which is
equipped with an EEG sensor.
2. Instructional narration is produced for the user.
3. The user says “Go,” activating HoloLens’s voice recognition functionality to start the experience.
4. The user is initially faced with a noisy blizzard that blocks their vision and is very distracting, which then
disappears showing merely an empty fountain as they begin to meditate.
5. Once the user passes through the blizzard portion of the experience, the water portion commences and begins to fill the fountain. If the user does not again enter a meditative state in time, the water will fill up to the brink of
suffocation and will indicate they may lose their life. In contrast, if the user meditates, they will see the empty
fountain again.
6. The user is congratulated for completing all levels of the experience and is presented with a rainbow visual.
* It is my intention to somehow incorporate additional natural events such as earthquakes or volcano eruptions.
The mindfulness fountain project was a part of my Master’s thesis project at NYU ITP in 2018.
Below is a video recording of my presentation.