Breathership

Overview

Inspired by long-distance couples, friends, and families, we asked: Can synchronized breathing become a form of communication across distance? Building on our previous project Breath – Responsive Meditation, we set out to design an experience where two people breathe together to communicate and connect.

Keywords: Embodied Interaction, Microcontroller, Gyroscope/Accelerametor Sensors, C++, Programmable Air (PA)

Team Members: Brian Bishop with help from Andre Lira, Christina Tang, Fabrizio Guccione, Audrey Oh, and Avery

My role: Coding (C++ in Arduino IDE) and prototyping

Status: Completed, Github, Presented in ITP winter show

Contents:

View Final Media & Interaction

Process

Framing the Experience: Through research and critique, we shifted toward a fully analog experience centered on sensing two people’s breathing and communicating synchronization through touch, airflow, and embodied interaction.

Iterating on Breath Sensing: We tested stethoscope microphones, piezos, and IMUs for non-invasive breath detection. After unstable results, we refined an IMU approach with real-time recalibration and a belly-mounted enclosure informed by body movement research.

Building the System: We explored Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and wired communication between multiple microcontrollers. Hardware incompatibilities pushed us toward a Wi-Fi + serial architecture using Arduino Nano 33 IoTs and the WifiNina library.

Idea: Create an inflatable that Partner One inflates and deflates using their breath, allowing Partner Two to close their eyes and feel the other person’s breathing through touch.

Playtesting: Midway Checkpoint

Testing the IMU sensor:

Inhaling -> LED turns on; Exhaling -> LED turns off

Unsuccesful sensings seemed a result of unrelaxed posture and pushing the sensor into the abdomen

Most successful sensing was when individual was leaned back and gently holding the sensor to their abdomin

Testing the Programmable Air:

We used a latex balloon and created a simple program to inflate and deflate the balloon automatically

Feedback/Challenge Posed: Ovreall people liked the experience of feeling someone's breath and having that inflatable interaction. However, a question to consider was posed: What is the role of technology in this experience? We wanted the experience to be as analog as possible. If we have two people what's stopping them from having their backs back to back to sync their breathes?

Pivot Idea: Create a DIY inflatable sculpture that would inflate when the users were in sync and deflate when the users were out of sync.

Programmable Air & DIY Inflatable

Connecting Programmable Air to Arduino Router: We tested multiple ways to connect the Arduino Nano IoT 33 to the programmable air system. After ruling out serial communication conflicts and a hardware-heavy two-pump redesign, we adopted a simple digital signaling approach and resolved unstable behavior with a transistor-based signal isolation circuit.

Circuit Connection with just a Wire

Circuit Connection with a Transistor

DIY Inflatable: We refined the circuitry, code, and programmable air system to create a responsive perceptual experience. To represent a shared journey, we designed a butterfly inflatable symbolizing two people staying in sync while pursuing a common goal. We iterated through multiple fabrication approaches—ironed plastic bags, then a fabric butterfly with Mylar—but material limitations and failed inflation tests ultimately led us toward latex as the only reliable solution, prompting a reconsideration of how to best express the concept.

Fabrication & Butterfly Enclosure

We designed and fabricated custom enclosures for the programmable air system and Arduino wearables using laser cutting, woodworking, and hand assembly. We chose butterfly-wing enclosures to play on the phrase “butterflies in your stomach,” tying the physical form to themes of breath, emotion, and connection. We stuck to inflating a latex balloon to not overdo the metaphor.

Final Testing

Final Iterations & Pivot: When moving to wireless operation, we ran into repeated brownouts—four alkaline batteries couldn’t supply enough current for the Wi-Fi module and servo system. Switching to lithium-ion batteries resolved the issue. We also pivoted the final output into a collaborative “tree of breatherships,” where synchronized pairs inflate shared balloons, with custom placards carrying elements of our original visual identity.

Brain and I playtesting

PXL_20251211_004249548.mp4

Listen for the 'Click' as they breath in sync

View Final Media & Interaction

Strangers Finding Their Way to Communicate

Parents & Their Kids

Friends Compete for Largest Breathership!

Watching the Breathship Tree Grow

Timelapse of Breathership Tree

Feedback: You never know how people will interact with your work!

Future: The first iteration was a solo meditation experience. The second involved two people connecting through synchronized breathing. A third iteration, if we were to do one, would expand this to a group-breathing landscape.

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