Helps deal with flight anxiety onboard
IoT system for optimal coping with anxiety before and during flight.
In today's globalized world, flying is the fastest, most convenient and safest way to travel long distances. People who suffer from flight anxiety and avoid flights miss family reunions, trips, and business opportunities. At best, those of them who do fly suffer for days before and during the flight.
The research focused on two aspects: The psychological aspect of "what is anxiety?", how is it expressed in the brain, how it affects physical and mental reactions, and the practical aspect – how the structure of an airport and its orientation impair our sense of control, what are the most successful treatment methods today, etc. While there are a variety of anxiety treatment methods, most deal with a single component of anxiety and its ability to affect the others, thereby reducing anxiety. The three components are:
The "Fight or Flight" instinct, avoidance and escape reactions that occur during anxiety, when feeling threatened.
Thoughts, self-proclamations,beliefs, interpretations, expectations, and imagination concerning the anxiety-inducing stimuli.
The various physical sensations or emotions that arise in the presence of the anxiety-inducing stimuli.
There are several apps designed specifically for flight anxiety, and a vast number of apps for general relaxation; two successful examples are Calm and Headspace. Most share the same pain points:
There is a collection of exercises and the user can get lost. Ineffective.
Anxiety and forms of relaxation are not the same for everyone, which can lead to frustration and abandonment.
A user who has tried an app and was unaffected by it will probably not try another one, thinking their anxiety cannot be treated.
Information flows to the user but counter-information does not flow back to the app, so there is nothing to measure success and improvement.
This research included three phases: a preliminary survey answered by 93 flight anxiety sufferers; in-depth interviews with six of them; and meetings with relevant professionals like flight attendants, pilots, psychologists, therapists, and biofeedback experts.
The results of the preliminary survey were very interesting and gave me valuable insights that I could not have gotten any other way, thanks to the Facebook group "fear of flying forum" members. The questions were:
At what point do you start feeling anxious?
What helps you the most these days?
Have you tried any anxiety treatment?
If not, why?
Would you have better control of your anxiety if you received more information on the plane in real-time?
I then conducted in-depth interviews with a focus group of six suffering from different degrees of anxiety, all of whom use different methods for coping. They told me how their anxiety manifests, conclusions from treatments they have tried, what helps them to cope today, and which actions increase their sense of control before and during the flight. Based on that, I built two main personas.
An IoT system made up of smart interrelated devices and an app which trains and guides the user mentally and practically throughout the period before and during the flight.
People who suffer from varying degrees of flight anxiety.
Strengthening the sense of control and confidence, thereby reducing anxiety and improving quality of life.
20%of potential users will order the system right after a flight ticket is booked,during the first 6 months of the target campaign.
We would like to lead the user on a journey, which includes advance and satisfactory preparation throughout the pre-flight period. The goal is to reduce stress on the day of the flight and optimally handle the flight itself. Each stage consists of several consecutive steps and each stage is affected by the previous one.
During onboarding, users will fill their flight details, familiarize themselves with the treatment methods and undergo diagnosis. Based on these actions, the system will create The Journey- the ideal combination treatment leading up to the flight.
The core of the longest stage, the pre-flight period. It includes the sequence of mental exercises along with practical intervention points such as help in preparing a travel equipment list, a virtual tour of the plane with recommended seats for check-in, a meeting with a captain, and more.
The system strives for personalization, especially in mental coping. For example, custom guided imagery: users can create the perfect personalized scene, creating fast and optimal disengagement. Thousands of configurations can be created, each one best optimized and personalized by the user.
The role of the practical intervention points is to strengthen the user's sense of control towards the day of the flight.
For example, fear of poor time planning may add to the stress on the day of the flight. The app offers the user help in planning their time and thus strengthens their sense of control.
The structure of the airport greatly affects anxiety; disorientation and the inability to accommodate changes increases the stress. The system accompanies the user at the airport, hand in hand right up to the plane door.
Interface design and color choices have enormous significance, especially when dealing with anxiety. I chose a blue palette that conveys confidence, ease, and calmness. The interface design is clean and derived from the aviation world, reminiscent of aircraft interior as part of the same therapeutic process; the digital and physical worlds become one.
Apart from the app, the system includes two thermo-pads, a smart textile product that can heat itself to 40° Celsius, a heart rate wristband, and earbuds.
All parts communicate via Bluetooth.
According to the biofeedback method, the body responds to anxiety sensations in the brain by accelerated heartbeats, heavy breathing, cold sweats, etc., and the ability to balance these metrics can lower the level of anxiety.
During the flight, the wristband measures the user's heart rate. Once it is above the user's norm, the learning system goes into action and incorporates suitable therapeutic elements into the earbuds according to user preferences and what the system has learned that helps them the best.
At the same time, the thermo-pads that are attached the shoulder blades warm up, increasing blood flow and relaxing the muscles (external intervention).
The system will stop when the indices are balanced, which means that the user is calm again.
