MndOvrMtr (M/M) is an interactive and visual design project with a difference. It is a new to the world innovation (Crawford & Benedetto, 2011), which allows complete disconnection from the thousands of visual and aural stimuli which we experience every day, by intention or otherwise (Chitty, Barker, Valos & Shimp,2012). It enables our brains to rest and recover through a process where, blocked off from external stimuli, the activity from our brain’s neural pathways creates its own visual cues and imagined sounds. As we immerse ourselves in these absorbing sensations our minds and bodies totally relax.
Humans have the tendency to think that what they observe in their lifetime is normal. We have come to unthinkingly accept hyper-connectivity and information saturation as normal (Chan, 2006, Turkle,2005). We also accept and expect the convergence of new media technologies and enslave ourselves to them as a preferred form of communication, self-expression and as a source of stimulus. Through the integration and development of interaction, validation and user experience these immersive virtual realities alter the way in which we behave individually and as a society
These virtual spaces or digital ontologies become extensions of ourselves, as they intertwine with our genetic structure. We have become over reliant with the affordances provided by these new technologies and have reached a state of techno-social hybridity where we are now being dominated by the very mediated and remediated tools we have created (Baym, 2010). We are so used to endless stimulation, we feel scaringly disconnected, isolated and vulnerable without it. We have forgotten how to relax, switch off and delight in the peace of our own minds and thoughts. M/M provides the beauty and solitude of stimulus dislocation. It takes the positivist and pragmatic approach (Creswell, 2003) empowers users to create their own selfreflexitve environments in which the energy from their brains neural pathways is measured and transformed into visual and audio cues providing immersive personal relaxation. The two busiest pathways to all that we experience and feel in our stimulus saturated worlds are our eyes and our ears. With its unique design, M/M interrupts these pathways, creating a roadblock to all external stimuli.
M/M is a simple flexible full scalp headpiece, uniquely designed with eye and ear patches with built in screens for the visual cues, and built in flat speakers for audio cures. Although wearable technology for recreational purposes gets a mixed reaction in the marketplace, this unobtrusive design, and the health care qualities of this innovation should gain acceptance by primary and secondary target segments. M/M takes the utilitarian design path providing a user-friendly interface, and represents a seamless design, to address the issue of stress and related illnesses (Sade, 2014)