Learning to meditate through human-computer interaction

Léa LACHAUD, Doctoral student, Université Paris 8, CHArt Laboratory, France

A biofeedback technique consists in converting a non-conscious physiological signal into a digital representation allowing the subject to become aware of this signal. Thanks to this accessible artificial representation, the subject can learn to modulate his biological signal by live observing its state changes. The study conducted on the physiological correlates of mindfulness allowed us to start the development of a biofeedback device through which users interact with an artificial agent capable of discriminating the state of mindfulness from ocular and cardiac activity signals. This agent artificially represents certain physiological cues of mindfulness so that users can self-regulate their activity and thus learn to place themselves in a mindful state.