Designing A Wearable Glove for
Nonverbal Presence
I led the technical prototyping, user research, and experience design of a heartbeat-sensing glove and ambient bedside lamp that helps long-distance pairs feel each other's presence without relying on screens, notifications, or active check-ins.
The core challenge was translating a private biometric signal into a calming shared experience without making intimacy feel performative, dependent, or overly mediated by technology.
I designed and prototyped a wearable-and-ambient system that turns heartbeat data into a soft, breathing glow, creating a nonverbal sense of presence while exploring how technology can support emotional connection without demanding attention.
Adults wrestle with separation anxiety too: endless doom-scroll checks, midnight “just text me when you're home” pings.
Existing products in this space, Bond Touch bracelets, Filimin friendship lamps, Hey bracelets, rely on manual “I'm thinking of you” taps, which require conscious action and lose emotional fidelity.
“Every night, millions of people reach for their phones just to confirm someone they love is still there.”
Six semi-structured interviews with 4 psychotherapists and 2 clinical psychologists surfaced two key insights.
Tangible heartbeat feedback calms separation anxiety.
Therapists confirmed that rhythmic, body-linked stimuli (like a heartbeat) activate co-regulation responses, the same mechanism that makes a parent's chest soothe an infant.
Over-reliance risks tech dependency and panic on failure.
If the lamp goes offline, a user in an anxious state could spiral. The system needed graceful degradation and clear “offline” states that don't trigger alarm.
Each component of the system went through multiple rounds of testing driven by user feedback.
Initial Concept
The first version had exposed wires and a breadboard-mounted sensor. Functional, but clinical.
Feedback
Users found it uncomfortable, and the visible electronics felt fragile and intimidating.
Revision
We moved to a stretchy glove with a soft felt lining, testing it across eight finger sizes to ensure consistent sensor contact.
Initial Concept
The initial lamp featured a lattice pattern. It landed as novelty décor.
Feedback
Users called it cute, but it didn't read as calming and didn't communicate its emotional purpose.
Revision
Switching to a semi-circular MDF arc with a gradient diffuser that simulates a setting sun shifted perception immediately, from gadget to ambient object.
Initial Concept
Holographic film behind the diffuser for visual drama.
Observation
It produced hotspots and 1,200 lux at 30 cm, the opposite of calming.
Revision
We replaced it with frosted acrylic layered with tracing paper, bringing the output to a sub-300 lux breathing glow that participants consistently preferred over any flashier biometric visualization.
At the December 2024 SVA ixD exhibition, we split the gallery into two mirror zones, “Brooklyn” and “Bangalore”, to dramatize the lamp's promise of collapsing distance. Visitors wore the glove in one zone and watched the lamp respond in the other.
If We Had More Time
Three future directions we would pursue.
Companion app for onboarding and pause controls.
Multi-person support.
Graceful offline storytelling.
Currently, pausing requires physically removing the glove. A lightweight mobile interface would support the "opt-in vulnerability" principle and give users agency without adding monitoring features.
Several parent participants asked about connecting to multiple children's lamps. This raises interesting design questions about how to differentiate multiple heartbeats in a single ambient display without creating a dashboard.
The current "fade out" when connection drops is functional but could be more intentional. What if the lamp slowly shifted to a "memory" glow, the last recorded rhythm, gently fading, rather than simply dimming?