Sweet Caffeine

This project is a therapeutic audio experience designed for stressed-out, exhausted individuals who are in need of an energetic break with similar effects to a coffee break. Users will interact with a pressure sensor to change the music effect of the soundtrack to their liking while stimulating their senses using scents and vibration haptics. _{Producer & Media: Alexsa Tolentino; Tech & Physical Computing: Peiyu Eva Zhou & Yuan Fang. Materials and Software: Ableton Live, self-made MIDI controller, fabrication, soldering, Arduino edit, recliner chair, pressure sensor, vibration sensor, headphones, timed perfume, conductive threads, breadboard, jumper wires, and Velostat.}

Technical Info: Sweet Caffeine is a reclining chair that vibrates alongside deep house music, which plays through a set of wired headphones. Participants are encouraged to use pressure sensors that were thoughtfully designed and placed on the armrest. These pressure sensors adjust the musical effects, such as tempo and pitch, which allows them to control the audio to their liking. Participants are also given an optional set of goggles that provide an even more profound experience through closed-eye visuals.
These goggles are using internal LED lights that pulse at a particular frequency, generating kaleidoscopic-like patterns behind the participants' eyes, which has been scientifically proven to improve stress and depressive behaviors. All these effects placed together help the participant feel as if they are in a state of euphoria while at the dance club but with the safety of being in their own space. With user research showcasing higher improvement in participants' mood when given a private environment, it is imperative that the experience be done in a space that allows the participant to be alone.