For the CreaTe M3 project, me and my group made bathroom components smarter, in order to catch early signs of mental health problems and allowing the user to monitor their own mental health. It is supplemented with a phone application.
We did this project with a client, Darify. Darify is a company that aims to connect young people with each other and mental health professionals.
Through research, we found that mental health issues like depression and anxiety have been on the rise, especially among young people aged 16-25. They deal with long waiting times at psychologists, and lack early sign detection and prevention. We created a product that has the potential help young people with their mental health in an approachable, anonymous, fun, low-effort, unavoidable way. We wanted to combine physical and digital domains to help solve this global issue.
A bathroom, usually with a mirror and a toothbrush with its holder, is usually the first thing one sees in the morning. Our prototype has a display that can take mood inputs, split up big tasks the user inputs and make them into small tasks with AI, and has gamification elements in the form of an EXP bar. The mirror turns itself off after some time, to avoid the user from becoming too sceptical of their own appearance.
The toothbrush holder features an IR sensor that keeps track of how long teeth are brushed, as shorter teeth brushing times can be an indication of oncoming depression or anxiety. In addition, not leaving the house can also be a sign for oncoming mental health issues, so our phone application also tracks the user's “time spent away from home”. Finally, the user can use the app to track their statistics and EXP in graphs, like their time spent away from home and time spent brushing their teeth, along with their split-up small tasks and mood inputs.
Below, some images of the project prototype can be seen. Please keep in mind that this project was all about background research and a proof-of-concept to the client, not aesthetics.