Connected Heartbeats is a light-based visualizer that reveals the patterns of your heartbeat. A microphone embedded in a stethoscope picks up the sound of your heart and translates it into a moving visual pattern. A second stethoscope allows an additional person to join in, creating a mesmerizing sequence of moving patterns based on each individual's heart rate. Studies have shown that people's heartbeats when in a group of friends or relatives often sync up or harmonize during emotional events. Connected Heartbeats is an experience that binds people together through the visuals created by and for them.

Background





An experiment was done in Spain where participants' heart beats were monitored during a fire walking ritual.




Ivana Konvalinka, a Ph.D. student at the Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience at Denmark's Aarhus University discovered that the activity synchronized the heartbeats of the participant and the spectator especially if they were related. It was suggested that "people can share the same physical sensations even when they are not moving as one. " They called it "synchronized arousal."




Another study done at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio discovered that people's hearts can harmonize solely on visual or auditory information.

Audience
Anyone who wants to take a break and relax their mind.

User Scenario
Two people sit infront of the installation.





Each one grab a stethoscope and place on on to their chest or neck.





The Visual from the heartbeat will instantly appear infront of the user.

Implementation



I Heartbeat Sensors: A broadcast microphone embedded inside the Stethoscopes connects to an audio





II Experimenting with Visual Interface: Using Touch Designer and Max/Jitter





III Production: Building an installation and Projection Mapped on to it.

Conclusion
When the heartbeat is visualized, I discovered that people watching, who are related, will synchronize or harmonize their heartbeats to one another.