TOBE: Tangible Out-of-Body Experience

A toolkit called Tobe lets people create tangible avatars that display live physiological signals like heart rate or brain activity, making inner states visible and shareable. Through a co-design approach, the researchers explored how everyday people imagine their physiology and tested Tobe's acceptability in a science museum. A practical example shows two users relaxing together, where Tobe helped synchronize their signals and share a moment. The toolkit is intended for researchers and designers to build applications in STEM education, cognitive science, medicine, or social and entertainment experiences.

Study at a glance

Abstract

We propose a toolkit for creating Tangible Out-of-Body Experiences: exposing the inner states of users using physiological signals such as heart rate or brain activity. Tobe can take the form of a tangible avatar displaying live physiological readings to reflect on ourselves and others. Such a toolkit could be used by researchers and designers to create a multitude of potential tangible applications, including (but not limited to) educational tools about Science Technologies Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and cognitive science, medical applications or entertainment and social experiences with one or several users or Tobes involved. Through a co-design approach, we investigated how everyday people picture their physiology and we validated the acceptability of Tobe in a scientific museum. We also give a practical example where two users relax together, with insights on how Tobe helped them to synchronize their signals and share a moment.