Challenge
Stress is the health epidemic of the 21st century regarding the World Health Organization.
We live in a constant state of input. Notifications, noise, and overstimulation hijack our attention and disconnect us from ourselves. While our devices keep demanding more, our bodies know a different pace. The result is chronic stress, shallow focus, and burnout.
So what?
Stress needs to be addressed at the pace of modern life if we want to prevent it from becoming the defining health crisis of the 21st century.
If we continue to live in constant input without tools that help us recalibrate, the result will be rising burnout, shallow focus, and declining well-being. Just as technology reshapes how we work, we need equally adaptive ways to realign with our body’s natural rhythms and sustain our mental health.
Concept
A tool that restores balance through rhythm, helping people move from stress to focus, calm, and energy.
People don’t just need to know that they are stressed — they need ways to actively shift their state. Sona detects when stress or distraction is present, interprets what the body needs, and delivers rhythmic physical pulses to realign with our natural pace.
Instead of passively tracking, Sona intervenes in real time: calming during commutes, sharpening focus at work, boosting confidence in presentations, and restoring energy at home. By working with the body’s rhythms rather than against them, Sona helps people navigate daily life with balance and resilience.
Competitor Analysis
Existing solutions often address only parts of the problem, lacking a holistic approach to stress reduction.
Most existing tools address fragments of the stress problem: tracking, training, or single-sense interventions, but fail to deliver a holistic, continuous experience of stress reduction.
How it works
Grounded in scientific research, enabling stress reduction that is visceral and unobtrusive.
Across 50+ peer-reviewed sources, expert interviews, target-user studies, and live prototype tests, we mapped how specific rhythms influence mental state. Relaxation aligns with slower rhythms, focus emerges at mid-range beats, and higher tempos drive energy and performance.
The system follows a three-step loop that connects body signals to actionable rhythms:
Measuring – Sensors track key biodata such as ECG (heart rate), HRV (heart rate variability), respiration, and skin conductance. These signals provide a precise picture of the user’s stress and focus levels.
Interpretation – The data is analyzed and translated into the user’s current mental state and need, such as relaxation, focus, or the need for energy.
Rhythm Generation – Based on this interpretation, the device generates tailored rhythmic pulses that stimulate the nervous system through 20 haptic vibration motors.
By continuously measuring, interpreting, and responding, the system turns raw physiological data into real-time regulation — closing the loop between awareness and action.
The interaction flow was developed to minimize user effort. The device can be put on beginning of the day, after which it runs on autoplay, detecting stress and delivering rhythmic patterns without requiring active engagement. Users retain the option to overwrite or adjust intensity, but the default mode emphasizes a passive, background experience. This approach shifts stress management away from conscious effort toward a more embodied, visceral and continuous regulation.
Innovation
Exploring haptic vibration as a sensory medium for experiencing rhythm and reducing stress.
Similar to the concept of music, Sona uses rhythms to influence the user. Instead of sound the device uses rhythmic haptic vibration as a new sensory medium, proactively supporting stress relief and enhancing focus on a visceral level without demanding cognitive attention or interaction from the user.
Process
Developing a wearable that fits universal and feels unobtrusive in daily life. Feeling like a piece of jewelry.
Paper sketches set the concept; Lidar neck scans fed CAD models for true-to-body ergonomics.
Dozens of PETG/TPU FDM prints tested fit, thickness, and motor layout day-to-day. Mock-ups worn, adjusted, and re-printed until posture, pressure, and weight felt “invisible.”
High-detail nylon SLS parts, spray-finished and bonded, deliver the production-level design model.
Testing
User testing validates the concept with a 33% increase in positive states.
To validate the concept, I first conducted 10 target-user interviews to understand stress experiences, coping strategies, and expectations for an unobtrusive wearable. Insights from these sessions highlighted the need for a solution that does not demand attention yet provides tangible relief in daily contexts.
Based on these findings, I developed a functional prototype with a controller, three vibration motors, and a power supply, programmed in CircuitPython to adjust rhythms and intensities via two buttons. Enclosed in fabric, the device could be worn on the body for extended sessions, allowing realistic testing.
The prototype was evaluated in user testing with 20 participants, measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results showed a 33% increase in positive states and a 30% reduction in tension-related items. These outcomes demonstrate the potential of rhythmic haptics to support stress reduction in an embodied, unobtrusive way.
Result
Introducing SONA
Sona introduces rhythmic haptic vibration as a new, screen-free sensory medium, proactively supporting stress relief and enhancing focus on a visceral level without demanding cognitive attention or interaction from the user. Similar to the concept of music, Sona uses rhythms to influence the user.
Sona’s design embodies principles of Calm Technology and Emotional Design, operating quietly in the background of everyday life. It's jewelry-like form challenges the stigma of mental health tools by making stress management something open, wearable, and beautiful.
Even though Sona works without the need for active user input, users can still intervene via the haptic surface on the front of the device to adjust intensity. Additionally, a mobile app supports onboarding and advanced settings, along with third-party connectivity such as linking haptic rhythms to music or driving experiences. When ordering through the website, users can choose from different sizes with the help of a fitting tool.
Impact
Sona supports mental wellbeing through physical rhythm.
It helps people manage stress and regain focus without screens, noise, or distraction.
Designed for everyday life, Sona benefits commuters, students, professionals, and caregivers. It works silently, inclusively, and universally promoting good health & well-being.
By introducing rhythmic touch as a new medium, Sona creates a calm space in a loud world, improving quality of life for everyone, anywhere.