Course description
BA 5th semester, Fall 2010
Lecturer: Karmen Franinovic
Lucid dreaming is the experience in which the dreamer is capable of aware that he or she is dreaming. In this state, the mind is awake, but the physical body still sleeps. This can be a terrifying experience, especially in the first lucid dreams, and can result in insomnia. However, it can become an enjoyable and rich personal exploration when the dreamer becomes capable of intentionally acting within the dream. In past, various techniques have been developed to induce and to control lucid dreaming. The lucid dreaming is frequent: 8 people in 10 will have a lucid dream during their lives and scientists argue that this number has been increasing. How can we design for lucid dreaming experience? How can we affect the sleep process through interactive technology?
In this course we will develop products that can put one to sleep and gently wake one up. These products can influence the sleep process by providing different types of stimuli: light, sound, warmth, vibration, movement etc. The stimuli can be activated by tracking the brain activity and other bio-data of the sleeper. The products may range from a lamp with fading light or an alarm clock to a warming up blanket or a pillow that gently repeats sounds. They may also embody different emotions associated to the experience of lucid dreaming.
Karmen Franinovic
Karmen is an architect and designer working with critical and playful uses of technology in everyday life. She pursues research in fields of sonic interaction, responsive environments, basic design, enaction and ...
Breathing Pillow
Studium Project
The pillow adapts to the breathing rate of the user and relaxes the user with rhythmical movements. By slowing down the breathing of the user, it contributes to the process of falling asleep.
Dreamcloud
Studium Project
DreamCloud is a system (pillow and smartphone application) that records a sleeper’s dream. The pillow works as silent alarm clock and recording device which trains the aptitude of the user to recall his dreams more easily.
Put Me to Sleep...
Interdisciplinary course on developing products for lucid dreaming
Simon Müller Interaction Design
Samuel Bauer Interaction Design
Cedric Steiger Industrial Design
Caitlin Dobozi Style & Design
http://blogs.iad.zhdk.ch/luciddreams/drifting-off/
Michael Fretz, Interaction Design
Thomas Jakob, Interaction Design
Manuel Hitz, Industrial Design
http://blogs.iad.zhdk.ch/luciddreams/breathing-pillow/
It’s the end of a long and crazy day and you’re exhausted. You have a lot on your mind; experiences you had during the day, issues that have to be resolved, ideas that have to be generated. And last but not least, barely any free time to do any of these things. Why not utilise the time you dream? DreamCloud trains your aptitude to recall your dreams more easily, nurturing the luxury of sleeping. Dreams can be used in a variety of ways, for instance, to resolve current personal issues or as a potential source of creativity.
Some people use notebooks to document their dreams. However, many find it quite difficult to recall the dream the next morning and very uncomfortable to record during the night.
Dreamcloud monitors your sleep cycle during the night and wakes you up, ever so gently, right after you’ve had a dream. With your dream still fresh in mind, you can now record it, without having to switch on the lights, waking up the person next to you. The pillow itself is the interface and makes it easy to log dreams.
The next morning, your dream recording is already synced to the DreamCloud servers. Whenever you get a free minute during your day, on the way to work for example, you can use the specially designed app on your smart phone to listen to all the raw dreams you’ve captured. You now have the chance to complete your dreams, if you happen to remember additional details, categorise them more precisely, rate them, tag them with people and places that appeared in the dream and even add your own interpretations.
Built during a three week interdisciplinary course in collaboration with ETH Sensory-Motor Systems Lab.
blog: http://blogs.iad.zhdk.ch/luciddreams/dreamcloud
Concept, Design & Research: Alain Frapolli (IAD), Felicitas Dagostin (VSD), Jonas Haefele (VSD), Michael Huber (IAD)
Film- & Motiondesign, add. illustrations, technical pillow prototype and coding: Michael Huber
Illustrations, recording function & add. coding: Alain Frapolli
Mobile prototype (design & coding): Jonas Haefele
Pillow design, voiceacting: Felicitas Dagostin
Mentor: Karmen Franinovic