Emotional design with ambient intelligence: varying emotions by adapting ambient music to heart rate

• Main Author: Lee, Jeremy Dai Zhun
• Other Authors: Chen Chun-Hsien
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/60869
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Ambient intelligence has rarely been employed in emotional design. Given the advancements in technology resulting in the ease of incorporating ambient intelligence, this project seeks to explore the possibilities of ambient intelligence in emotional design. After considering the possible places to employ ambient intelligence and the ways to do so, this project suggests the use of a heart rate monitor to simulate a smart environment in a café. Using the heart rates as stimuli, the café environment will play music corresponding to the tempo of the stimuli. This is based on the idea that music, emotions and physiological responses are connected and affect each other. Methods to measure and understand the links between physiological responses and emotions are explored. Suitable heart rate monitors are sourced for and bought for the experiment. A program is then written in Java to connect to the heart rate monitor and to play music accordingly. Using the opinions of the environment as a gauge to see if emotional design has succeeded, surveys and experiments are carried out. From the survey and experiment results, this method shows promise, thus implying that it is feasible to employ ambient intelligence in emotional design.