Last week we bumped into a noteworthy half-meta concept, The Rationalizer. Jointly developed by Philips and ABN AMRO, it consists of the EmoBowl and EmoBracelet. Officially intented for online investors working at home, the lights intensify and turn a brighter red when your emotions heaten up, offering a ‘mirror of emotion’ to warn you that it might be a good idea to calm down a few minutes before making any irrational financial decisions. Technically, the EmoBracelet detects your pulse and translates it into a light spectrum. Both bracelet and bowl visualize this spectrum.
An interesting idea, especially in a society where stress becomes a more common phenomenon everyday, even among younger generations. I think Philips and ABN AMRO have done a great job breaking the taboo around psychological health by transforming monitoring devices into designer objects.
However, I doubt if the Rationalizer in its current state really works. It looks like most attention has been given to its aesthetics, but what really misses here is some sort of training functionality. Although there is a feedback loop (the lights will change color again once you relax), it fails to advise you HOW to become more relaxed and stay relaxed over time. One could think of an online interface that would help you train through exercises. It could also plot your statistics, so you could see yourself develop over time (like Nike+). And if self monitoring won’t do the job, your doctor could track your statistics online and advise you directly through the interface. That would be a nice way to enrich the product experience, and make The Rationalizer a bit more useful.
Tags: Meta Products, Sensing wearables
Meta Products – Building The Internet of Things
