About The Project
Dhyāi Drishti is an interactive installation, which can be optimized as a product to help induce a state of lucidity, relaxation, concentration and mindfulness. It is a simple device that responds to touch and creates a meditative atmosphere around the viewer. Dhyāi Drishti’s installation consists of a tactile yogic figurine along with a screen and speaker. The figurine is embedded with small aluminum buttons – positioned according to the chakras or ‘energy points’ in the body and embellished with their representative colours and icons. On touching these buttons, the viewer can experience a meditative visual of the selected chakra on the screen along with a ruminative music of ‘tanpura’ and ‘sitar’ in the background to activate the chakras in their body.
Experience Video
Background
The term ‘Dhyāi’ is a Sanskrit word for concentration or mindfulness. It is the origin of the word ‘Dhyana’ in Hindi or Dhyān in Bengali which means meditation. The term ‘Drishti’ is a Sanskrit word for vision. Our project, ‘Dhyāi Drishti’ is intrinsic to the concept of chakras and their meditative prowess. It is supposed to help the viewer activate a particular chakra as they see the visual, hear the music and enter a meditative state. Each sound and visual is carefully designed and curated according to each chakra. Chakra, meaning “wheel” in Sanskrit, represents a series of energy points (prana) in the body. While they are in the body, they’re not physical centers. They could be considered “astral”, or in what is often alluded as our “subtle body”. The concept behind them is ancient — the first mention appears in the Rig Veda, dating back to approximately 1500 B.C.E. — some of the oldest writing in our civilization. Similar versions of the chakras are incorporated in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and several New Age belief systems. The chakras go up and down the spine, from the bottom up to just above the crown of the head. They each represent a step forward in evolving consciousness. Below is a reference to all the chakras and their intrinsic meaning.
Functioning
Dhyāi Dristi's interface is a simple human cut-out form that can be touched across various points along the spinal cord to play a symbolic visualisation of that particular point's representational Chakra. The device is connected to an Arduino which displays the symbolic image and sound on the computer when a certain button is touched.
On touching the third Chakra Point - Vishuddha, the screen turns green and a Raga for the associated point starts playing.
Image of the Touch Point Buttons
Behind the Touch Point Buttons, a hidden Arduino Circuit
Process
Dhyāi Drishti was developed using Arduino Nano and Processing. The ideation and concept of Dhyāi Drishti was initially conceived from a particle code. While brainstorming on a probable concept for our project, I perceived the particle scatter as a meditative animation.
Concept Sketch
Concept Sketch II
Soldering the touch buttons
Circuit
Circuit Implementation
Attaching the circuit on the figure
Processing Code
Arduino IMU + Touch Sensor Code
Integration and testing
Inspiration and Future Scope
One of my main inspiration for the project was the Unyte. It is a relaxation or stress-management program with a biofeedback device known as the iom2, it tracks the breathing and heart rate and guide through the practice. The iom2 measures Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a measure of the variation in time between heartbeats and is considered to be a strong indicator of meditative state.
While most of us are stuck at our homes, socially distancing to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 virus, we often find ourselves restless, sleepless, agitated, annoyed bored or unable to concentrate. Because social interactivity is so elemental of our nature, we find it very difficult to isolate. It is proven that meditation can help increase mindfulness and overall sense of well being in these trying times. Our project is a humble adventure to promote the simple activity of meditating.
The project was later expanded as a wearable device to aid in meditation. The wearable device was named Dhyāi Sparsa, and can be viewed in the Projects Panel.