innovative vest with soft robots activates acupressure points to relieve anxiety

JANNE KREIMER WINS RIMOWA DESIGN PRIZE 2024 WITH RO

During the recent RIMOWA Design Prize 2024, the winning entry sprung from Janne Kreimer and her wearable technology, RO. The Anhalt University student of Integrated Design came up with a therapeutic vest wrapped with soft robots, or pod-looking inflatables, that swell with air when the wearer is anxious. These inflatable pods target the acupressure points around the body that can help reduce anxiety and calm the nerves of the wearer.

images courtesy of RIMOWA

A vest with robots that RELIEVE ANXIETY

The RIMOWA-winning design makes use of inflatable soft robots around a waistcoat as a way of combining exposure therapy with modern technology to address anxiety. The RO vest is crafted from TPU-coated nylon fabric, and gentle inflation is added or triggered to stimulate the acupressure points. Since the locations of these points differ depending on the user’s body shape, age, and gender, Janne Kreimer, under the mentorship of Andreas Murkudis, employs a body scan that creates a 3D digital model of the body.

Body scan to identify acupressure points per person

Once the body scan is complete, the system precisely adjusts the distances between the soft robots using algorithms so that these pods target the user’s acupressure points for anxiety correctly. In a way, the RO vest with soft robots that won the RIMOWA Design Prize is tailored to the wearer’s needs to better activate their parasympathetic nervous system and calm them down in times of anxiety. The 2024 RIMOWA Design Prize celebration took place at the James Simon Gallery on April 29th, 2024.

During the ceremony, Janne Kreimer received the award for her use of acupressure meridians and Deep Pressure Stimulation using a nylon vest and a series of soft robots. There was also an exhibition outside the venue where visitors could see her work firsthand. A special mention went to Daniela Lindenberga of SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences, who created a wearable safety device featuring a flashlight, camera, microphone, speaker, and GPS tracker to enhance user safety while traveling.

the soft robots around the nylon vest inflate and target the acupressure points to relieve anxiety