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Mar 17, 2024

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University of Bath Ph.D. student Alexz Farrall has invented a soft ball that ‘personifies’ breath, expanding and contracting as a person breathes in and exhales. Named the Physical Artefact for

University of Bath Ph.D. student Alexz Farrall has invented a soft ball that ‘personifies’ breath, expanding and contracting as a person breathes in and exhales. Named the Physical Artefact for Well-being Support (PAWS), the interactive ball is meant to keep users focused and to help them regulate their emotions by giving them a tangible representation of their breath.

University of Bath Ph.D. student Alexz Farrall with a PAWS ‘breathing’ ball. Image credit: University of Bath.

Generally, breathing is an ignored activity, yet when done deeply and with focus, it’s known to alleviate anxiety and foster wellbeing.

Measured breathing is highly rated by mental health practitioners both for its ability to lower the temperature in emotionally charged situations and to increase a person’s receptivity to more demanding mental-health interventions.

Disciplines that frequently include mindful breathing include cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness-based stress reduction, dialectical behavior therapy and trauma-focused therapies.

Most people, however, struggle to sustain attention on their breathing. Once disengaged from the process, they are likely to return to thinking mode and be less receptive to mental-health interventions that require concentration.

The PAWS ball works through haptic feedback, where sensors attached to the user’s body transmit data about their respiration patterns to the ball via a computer.

“When an individual holds the ball, their breath becomes a physical thing between their hands. They can feel and see the flow of air as the object expands and contracts,” Farrall said.

“This allows them to become more aware of their own internal sensations and more receptive to psychological change. It gives a personalized and engaging experience, and is accessible to everyone.”

Among those study participants who used the ball, there was an average 75% reduction in anxiety and a 56% increase in protection against worry-induced thoughts.

In contrast, those relying only on the audio recordings experienced a 31% reduction in anxiety (recording 44% more anxiety than their counterparts).

Additionally, those accessing the ball alongside audio guidance showed significantly higher heart rate variability (indicative of better stress resilience and emotional regulation) than those using only audio, demonstrating the superior calming effect of a combined ball+audio approach.

“By giving breath physical form, PAWS enhances self-awareness and engagement, fostering positive mental health outcomes,” Farrall said.

In the study, the PAWS prototype used an electronic and pneumatic circuit to convert pulmonary activity to pneumatic activation.

Future versions, however, will leverage Bluetooth technology and smart geometric structures to eliminate the need for wires, and make the device easier and more comfortable to use.

“The beauty of PAWS is that the concept is so simple — letting someone ‘feel’ their breath — yet it has the potential to revolutionize the delivery and outcomes of mental health support not only in the UK but worldwide,” said University of Bath’s Professor Jason Alexander.

The results were presented earlier this year at the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

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Alexz Farrall et al. Manifesting Breath: Empirical Evidence for the Integration of Shape-changing Biofeedback-based Artefacts within Digital Mental Health Interventions. CHI ’23: Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, article # 497; doi: 10.1145/3544548.3581188