VibroCushion

What it does

VibroCushion supports meditation by using tactile feedback to guide breathing and body awareness. It enables Deaf users to join guided sessions ,helping to reduce the sensory and social barriers that often limit accessibility in traditional meditation.

Your inspiration

Meditation typically relies on auditory cues such as voice, music, or breath sounds, which Deaf users cannot access. Visual aids offer limited support and become unusable once the eyes are closed. Through interviews with Deaf participants, we found that they are familiar with tactile signals like vibration in daily tools such as alarm clocks. Building on this insight, we developed a system that uses both vibrotactile feedback and gentle inflation to guide the session, enabling Deaf and hearing users alike to engage in shared meditation through touch, rather than sound or visuals.

How it works

VibroCushion consists of two parts: the Breath Cushion and the Body Cushion. Breath Cushion : This cushion wraps around the chest and detects the instructor’s breathing pace by measuring stretch with a capacitive sensor. Based on this, two 5V air pumps gently inflate a soft pneumatic actuator, while a solenoid valve controls the air release. This causes the cushion to slowly inflate and deflate, creating a subtle physical movement that helps the beginner follow the instructor’s breathing rhythm. This replaces the need for audible breath cues in traditional meditation. Body Cushion : Composed of multiple vibrating segments worn on the body, it responds when the instructor touches specific areas of their own cushion. The corresponding area on the novice’s cushion vibrates in real time, guiding attention to different body parts during meditation. This replaces verbal instructions or physical touch typically used in guided sessions.

Design process

Based on both personal meditation practice and interviews with deaf individuals, we developed the concept of a tactile-based meditation system and built the first prototype. We then held co-design workshops with Deaf participants, meditation instructors, and Korean Sign Language (KSL) interpreters to refine the prototype. Repeated testing led to several improvements. We adjusted the Breath Cushion’s inflation speed and air pressure to better match natural breathing, and fine-tuned the Body Cushion’s vibration intensity and duration for clearer, more comfortable feedback. Meditation instructors also guided decisions about posture (sitting or lying down) and target areas for vibration during body scanning meditation. After finalizing the device, we co-developed a session structure with Deaf users and meditation experts. In final testing with real users, we observed enhanced focus, greater body awareness, and a deeper sense of emotional connectedness.

How it is different

Unlike conventional mindfulness tools that treat vibration as a secondary supplement to audio or visual cues, VibroCushion places tactile feedback at the center of the experience. It does not rely on pre-programmed patterns or automated sequences. Instead, the instructor’s breathing is reflected through gentle inflation, while their physical touch is instantly transmitted as vibrotactile feedback to the user. Because the feedback is directly and synchronously linked to the instructor’s real-time actions, the guidance feels natural and human, rather than mechanical or repetitive. This allows even first-time users to intuitively engage with the session, without requiring prior training or familiarity with the system. The result is a meditation experience that is not only accessible, but also emotionally grounded and interpersonally connected.

Future plans

We plan to evolve VibroCushion beyond its current one-way interaction model into a multi-directional system that supports signal exchange between users. This enhancement will enable Deaf participants to both send and receive vibrotactile cues in group settings, cultivating a deeper sense of mutual presence and collective engagement throughout the meditation experience.

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