A mental health communication aide
Aura is a device and app pairing that helps people convey their mental state to loved ones and people around them through a metaphor of weather.
In an anecdotal survey among individuals with mental illness, almost one third of responses indicated that they had experienced discrimination in the home. These responses specifically referenced an inability to discuss mental illness appropriately with individuals at home1. Time to Change, an organization based in the United Kingdom, conducted a study which found that 9 out of 10 people have experienced discrimination in their everyday lives2. The National Alliance on Mental Illness stated that one of the best ways to fight this stigma is by talking openly about mental health3. With this in mind, Aura was designed to facilitate regular communication between people with mental illness and their families, friends, roommates, and loved ones. By normalizing the good days, bad days, and everything in between, mental health can be a regular part of everyday conversation and contribute to the end of the damaging stigma surrounding mental illness.
Aura is a 10″ tall tempescope that recreates different weather patterns according to the user’s mood, ranging from sunny to stormy, as indicated using the bluetooth-enabled AuraMood app. Shown here is the rainy setting, which indicates a poor mood.
The AuraMood app tracks the user’s moods, providing useful data for treatment. A score of 4 indicates a decent mood, and is represented within the Aura device as partly sunny weather. Selecting 2 expresses a poor mood, and dictates rainy weather within the Aura.
Process
Aura was created by Eugene Brukhman during a fellowship with Lehigh Mountaintop Initiative, along with 6 other products, in 2017. Team Intentional Design, composed of Eugene Brukhman, Xiaoyu Gu, Deanna Kocher, Caleb Leaser, and Liliana Comito, pursued the topic of designing physical objects that could help people living with mental illness. This topic was proposed by Eugene Brukhman and advised by Bill Best, professor of practice in the mechanical engineering and mechanics department and co-director of the IDEAS (Integrated Degree in Engineering, Arts, and Sciences) honors degree at Lehigh University.
