Stress levels in Japan must be at an all-time high. Satoru Tokuhisa has introduced a stress-relieving device that, as far as we can tell, involves moving balls around in a bowl of water:
The device looks relatively simple at a glance–a container with water and floating glass balls called “ukidama.” Just play with the water and the balls, then you’ll be rewarded by calming, ambient light, sound and smoke…
The key of this installation is the sophisticated sound augmentation mechanism using four microphones, FFT-based sound processing, and four surround speakers. What you hear from the speakers is something similar to suzumushi (bell-ring cricket)’s sound. This auditory experience is enhanced by the lighting, smoke and tactual sensation.
So, it’s not quite medicine, but rather, as they say, “a genre related to healing”… Future versions will sense user moods and attempt networking.
More from SIGGRAPH 2005…
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