Multi-sensory Experiences:
Week 7 - Multi-sensory Experiences and Sensory Rooms
I will begin this section by looking into what sensory experiences are. Our 'Nodenogg.in' mind map gave us ideas for research avenues and this one of them, which is why I am taking it further today!
Phase 3 - Sensory Research
Purpose for Research
My purpose for this research is to support our ideas for creating an 'Immersive experience'. Within my Immersion research I have understood the importance of engagement and focusing on the senses to do this - but I'd love to look at this in more depth and understand the crucial elements to achieving multi-sensory experiences. It would be great for us to understand how we can implement this into our final design.
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
I will begin by understanding briefly what Multi-sensory experiences are and how we can achieve one. I plan to look into examples and evaluate it's elements, such as visuals, sound, objects or items around the room.
"MULTI-SENSORY ENVIRONMENTS AND THEIR USE BY PEOPLE WITH AUTISM"
The first article that I found of interest to me was about multi-sensory environments being used by people with autism. I was interested as to how these rooms might help people and explore the reasoning behind this.
​
​
WHAT IS A MULTI-SENSORY ENVIRONMENT?
A multi-sensory environment is an artificially created space, specifically designed to allow users to control sensory input. This involves the 5 senses and include components such as Sound, Lighting, Smell, Touch, Temperature and Space. Within the space, equipment can be used to promote well-being by stimulating the senses!
​
ORIGIN & HISTORY
In the late 1970's these environments were developed as a Therapy Tool for individuals suffering with severe disabilities - Developed by psychologists Ad Verheul and Jan Hulsegge. It is now referred to as multi-sensory rooms or environments.
​
The original name for these environments was called 'Snoezelen' which combined the words 'to sniffle' and 'to snooze' in Dutch.
​
HOW ARE THEY USED NOW?
Overtime this concept has developed and can now provide 'sensory stimulation' for people with a range of disabilities, disorders and conditions. These environments can effect both children and adults and can impact those with both physical and mental health issues. Including stress, anxiety, dementia, brain injuries and cerebral palsy.
​
I was fascinated by the idea that a sensory room can provide support for those who might be struggling but with a more playful approach. I'd like to see how this can be applied to our ideas.
WHAT IS IT... HOW CAN I MAKE ONE & HOW DOES IT WORK?
I established that it's an artificially created room or space but I'd like to read up on it's sensory elements.
​
A sensory environment can include a pool or a garden area which contains the equipment to stimulate senses through light, sound, touch and smell. It works by creating a feeling of safety and the sensation of feeling under control. The items that you might find in a multi-sensory environment include:
-
Ball pools
-
Bubble tubes
-
Optic Fibre taillights
-
Musical effects!
BENEFITS / ADVANTAGES
The advantages of an environment like this is that they don't require or rely on verbal communication. This is a key factor as to why they might be beneficial for those with autism and can also be used to provide stimulation for those who might struggle with this or 'be impossible to reach'. It can also:
​
-
Increase concentration and focus attention
-
Develop or reactivate senses
-
Improve alertness
-
Provide security
-
Unrestrained atmosphere
-
Develop a sense of cause and effect
-
Promote social interactions
-
Promote mental and physical relaxation - stress levels drop dramatically!
-
Results in more calmness
-
Increase self-determination
-
Provide pain relief
MOOD-BOARD:
Sensory Environment Examples
I have made a mood-board of multi-sensory environments to gather an understanding of what they might look like and what they consist of.
​
PINTEREST LINK: https://pin.it/76Ujoc5​
EXAMPLE
​
Multi-sensory room - 'MacKenzie Centre' Early intervention centre in Hamilton, New Zealand.
WHAT DO THEY CONSIST OF?
From the mood-boards I can see that these rooms often consists of vibrant coloured lights and interactive elements to touch/feel as well:
-
Coloured light projections
-
Vibrant light combinations
-
Visual displays
-
Projections on floors, walls and ceilings
-
Materials and objects around the room like ropes, discs, plates, different textures.
SENSORY GARDENS
Another example I came across were 'sensory gardens' which are garden environments designed to stimulate the senses. Similar to ordinary multi-sensory rooms however, this one consists of outdoor activities and interactions.​
​
These environments are popular with kids and adults, the appearance of them almost remind me of a school playground/nursery. They consist of things like wind chimes, chalk boards and textured floors.
"SNOEZELEN - SENSORY ENVIRONMENTS"
Research Link:
THE 4 COMPONENTS​
Above I mentioned the 2 psychologists who developed the initial idea for sensory environments 'Snoezelen'. I thought it would be a good idea to read up about what they do and look at some of the environments they have designed themselves.
​
​
WHAT IS 'SNOEZELEN'?
Multi-sensory environments made to reduce agitation and anxiety. They can also be used to engage the user as well as stimulate senses, reactions and encourage communication. The design of their environments consists of 4 main components - Relaxation, Development, Stimulation and Therapy.
HOW?
Relaxation in the environment​
-
Used to calm and reduce agitation
-
Gentle light
-
Soothing sound
-
Relaxing smells
-
Calming textures
​
Used for Development
-
Used as a learning and developmental tool
-
Used for colour matching
-
Understanding cause and effect
-
Creating themed environments
​
Used for stimulation
-
Stimulate Users
-
Provide exciting visuals
-
Music and sounds
-
Smells
-
Textures to explore
​
Therapy tool
-
Provided health professionals and therapists with a 'Multi-Sensory' tool kit for years.
-
Portable resources
-
Custom sensory environments
WHO CAN BENEFIT?
​
What I admire about 'Snoezelen' is that a section of their website is dedicated to sensory environments targeted at a specific disability, illness or mental health issues.
Reading up on how they design their environments with no restrictions can help us design more inclusively and consider wider audiences.
​
"SNOEZELEN FOR MENTAL HEALTH"
Considering my Project Goals and Essential Experience, the game is targeted towards those suffering with mental health and can be used as a support tool to help deal with negative emotions. Because of this, I thought it would be necessary to read up on how Snoezelen environments can be used to impact mental health and understand the ways in which they can do this, from a Designers perspective. If we were to take forward our physical spaces/box idea, we can use this to influence and inspire our design.
Research Link:
https://www.snoezelen.info/who-can-benefit/snoezelen-for-mental-health/
​
​
​
​
"We all experience difficulties as we progress through life"
MULTI-SENSORY ENVIRONMENTS
Methods and practices can be used to help us cope with challenging experiences, to change the way we think and help us deal with our emotions better. This can result in feeling much better and being able to function in a similar scenario.
​
Multi-Sensory Environments (MSEs) can be personalised to create 'a safe space' for people to relax and wind down. They can make people feel safe, calm and comfortable in their own immersive safe space.
​
PERSONALISATION
You are able to personalise the experience to suit you, for example by changing the colour of the lighting, the equipment in the room, video played, music and scents. These can be based off the users preferences such as if they like to walk through forests in the rain, the experience can be tailored to simulate this through these components.
​
Kiera and I touched on the idea of customisation in our project and funnily enough it was very similar to this - by providing players with different options of customisation before they enter the room and so it would be their own comfortable safe space. This also provides players with agency, which I learned to be an important aspect of engagement, by putting players in control.
INTERACTIVE ELEMENTS & EQUIPMENT
Luckily, 'Snoezelen' have a whole page dedicated to their products! This includes the kind of things available in their sensory rooms. By looking at these, it might inspire what we integrate into one of our physical space ideas.
​
These can include:
​
-
Bubble Tubes
-
Visuals
-
Interactive Panels
-
Switches
-
Tactile
-
Olfactory
-
Auditory
-
Projection
-
Fibre Optics
-
Proprioception
Rompa - Bubble Tubes
BUBBLE TUBES
What do they do?
​
Bubble Tubes provide multi-sensory feedback and visuals. Colours change as the bubbles move - good for promoting colour recognition and visual perception! The tubes also provide tactile feedback through vibrations.
-
Can choose any colours
-
Can be programmed
-
Wifi compatibility​
VISUALS
What do they do?
​
They can provide a range of different visuals from solar projectors to fibre optics. The sensory environments can be used to encourage awareness to light, tracking and other visual skills. Projectors can be used to direct imagery on any wall, ceiling or floor.
-
Any content
-
Games
-
Storytelling
-
Shapes, numbers, colours
​
Fibre Optics include 'light sprays' and 'curtains' to elevate mood and relax users. Encourage engagement and increases focus.
-
Sparkling strands
-
Changing colours
-
Neon light sprays
-
Wall panels
-
Carpets.
​
Sensory MagicTM provides touch screen tech with projection mapping allowing users to control light, colour, images, video and sound. These can be used to transport themselves into an immersive sensory space - wherever their hearts content.
-
Upload your own pictures, video and music
-
Choose from over 80 themes
-
Wireless controllers
-
Touch screen pad
WIRELESS SWITCHES
What do they do?​
​
FibWireless switches are a great way to control what's in a sensory room. This gives users control over their surroundings.
-
Synchronise colours of all light products in the room
-
Wireless switch linked to compatible products
-
No trip hazard from wires!
​
INTERACTIVE LIGHT SYSTEMS
What do they do?
​
Users can interact with coloured light by using their hands, feet or reflective bat. You are able to trigger sounds through movement. This encourages physical activity.
​
-
Trigger sounds by waving arm
-
Activate chords at the sweep of a bat
-
Play interactive music games
-
Images, videos and graphics
INTERACTIVE PANELS
What do they do?​
​
Sound to Sight panels change in pitch and volume to create a sensory experience. They are engaging, interactive and rewarding. Users can respond by clapping, whistling or humming.
-
66 pattern combinations
-
11 colours
-
3 modes of opeartion
-
Responds to pitch, frequency and volume
-
Sound effect button
-
Accessible and illuminated buttons
​
Multifinity ExplorerTM creates visual and sound effects, and music. It encourages interaction, visual tracking and hand eye co-ordination.​
-
Select from a range of shapes, colours, patterns and speeds
-
Effects to choose from
-
1500 unique combos
-
Facilitates choice and controls
-
Interactive, accessible, illuminated buttons
Rompa - Sound to Sight
Rompa - Multifinity Explorer
INTERACTIVE PANELS
What do they do?​
​
Hip Hop Activity Box "allows you to play games, create music and trigger shows of light and colour". Encourages movement, composition, meaningful activity and creativity. Can place at your own pace!
-
6 Unique modes
-
Sound effects and music
-
Vibrant illuminated screen
-
Light and Colour
-
Accessible and illuminated buttons
-
Musical instruments, animal and space sounds (and more sound effects
Rompa - Hip Hop Activity Box
AUDITORY SENSE
What do they do?​
​
"It is this symphony of sounds that makes life richer"
Hearing empowers us - enables us to socialise, work and communicate as well as being connected to the outside world.
​
Sound kits enable users to explore and engage with different sounds and rhythms.
-
Boomwhackers
-
Space blanket
-
Groan Tube
-
Shakers
-
Tambourine
-
Rainsticks
​
Instruments can allow for people to gain confidence and self-esteem through improvisation and composition.
-
Cost-effective
-
Freedom to play, improvise and compose music.
​
Recorded music and sound - to stimulate calm and recall memories. Research has shown the decrease in stress levels after listening to upbeat music. Music can increase the number of antibodies in our systems, eliminating harmful bacteria.
-
Nature sounds
-
Ambient music
-
Atmospheric audio
-
Music can be adjusted to suit the theme of the envronment.
PROJECTION
What do they do?​
​
Projection can be used to promote relaxation 'through visual engagement'. Projectors can immerse users into a virtual experience, as well as add storytelling or just imaginative fun. There are different types of projectors and can depend on budget or space. Within my Immersive technology research, I looked into Projection Mapping and how we could use this.
-
66 pattern combinations
-
11 colours
-
3 modes of opeartion
-
Responds to pitch, frequency and volume
-
Sound effect button
-
Accessible and illuminated buttons
​
Multifinity ExplorerTM creates visual and sound effects, and music. It encourages interaction, visual tracking and hand eye co-ordination.
-
Select from a range of shapes, colours, patterns and speeds
-
Effects to choose from
-
1500 unique combos
-
Facilitates choice and controls
-
Interactive, accessible, illuminated buttons
GALLERY - ROOM EXAMPLES
In this clip you can see the components of one of the sensory rooms and their purpose:
SUMMARY, EVALUATION & REFLECTION
The equipment I have explored has inspired me to think about the way I could potentially use them in-game, as for our physical space ideas, the products involving interaction might be worth thinking about. The ones that especially caught my attention were the interactive light systems and hip hop activity box. These both use music to encourage concentration and focus while being fun and playful at the same time. I like how each interaction has meaning as well as just being a form of entertainment.
​
If I were to take the idea of the physical space forward, I'd encourage Kiera and myself to explore our options for physical interactions in the space, whether thats through motion tracking and interactive touch screens or through controller(s) similar to how they do in these multi-sensory rooms. However, our only constraint with this is the amount of time we have to develop the game and how accessible/expensive these products are! It might be worth thinking about how we can create something similar, in our own ways.
​
I like the idea of using a physical space because I believe the possibilities with it are endless and we could achieve something really great with it - as well as live up to our expectations and fulfil our project goals. This year we want to aim higher than we ever have before so why not go big!
​
Next I'd like to continue my research into Multi-Sensory rooms and experiences and see if I find other ways of building, creating or designing one myself.
"MULTI-SENSORY EXPERIENCES - WHERE THE SENSES MEET TECHNOLOGY"
Book written by Carlos Velasco and Marianna Obrist
​
​
(BOOK PAGES CAN BE FOUND ON PAGE 78 OF MY SKETCHBOOK)
Research Link:
https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Multisensory_Experiences/1PH6DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
NOTES (Notes related to my project in green)
-
We perceive the world around us with all of our senses
-
Multi-sensory experiences are a part of our everyday lives
-
These are the moments we take for granted - how could we create an experience that focuses on this? We could focus on creating engaging interactions throughout the experience which engage each sense.
-
Consider everyday experiences as 'a fusion of the senses'.
-
Think about eating a meal - we are immersed by the food, the sounds from the atmosphere and our interactions with the food! It's more than just sitting down to eat a meal.
-
Technology meets the senses allowing us to create 'unthinkable experiences'.
-
We can do this by controlling a number of components like lighting and sound delivery.
-
Virtual and Augmented Realities are examples of immersive technologies - VR allows us to recreate contexts and situations digitally as well as achieve completely new experiences!
-
Consider the way the different senses work together.
-
By considering the senses we can evoke feelings of calm, balance and ease.
-
Haptics can be used to stimulate real objects through vibrations and rumbles - haptics can be provided through touch controllers or PS5 controller if we think specifically.
-
Why not integrate vibrations, smells and other sensory inputs into movie experiences?
-
Sensory stimulation devices - providing designers with new tools to reconsider smells in films, games and other media formats. How could this be used in AR/VR environments? Maybe external devices similar to the Tate Sensorium Exhibition.
Multi-sensory culinary experience
-
Collaboration between the Centre for Multi-sensory Marketing and a Cafe in Mumbai developed a multi-sensory experience to "illustrate to the diners role of the senses in eating experience".
-
Synesthesia- Occurs when stimulation of one sense leads to another.
-
Some people might hear music when tasting foods, or see colours when hearing music!
-
Before the dish was served, a musician was asked to taste the dish and play the sound of the dish on his saxophone. His improvisation was a representation of the textures, scent and test of the dish.
-
Once the dish had been given out to the guests, the musician played his music.
-
Studies show that the majority of the guests said they enjoyed the experience and that the music and food worked/blended well together.
SUMMARY, EVALUATION & REFLECTION
​
This research has allowed me to look further into sensory engagement, and how we could transform a physical room in to a multi-sensory environment. I gathered a plethora of interactive panels and examples which we could use to inspire our interactions/gameplay next Semester, as I found the interaction with light and music the most interesting.
​
As for the majority of this research, It was useful to understand the effect on different senses and how this can be used to impact mental health. I like the idea of multi-sensory environments and I am definitely going to refer to 'Snoezelen' in Phase 4 as I admire what they do. I also came across a page on their website relating to 'design your room', which could be useful to look into in terms of transforming or designing a space and considering how to engage the senses. They also provide a few tips for preparation and manufacture.
​
The last book I read named 'Where the senses meet technology', opened my eyes up to how we use our senses in every day life and often take this for granted. I like the idea of bringing the players attention down to their senses and incorporate 'mindfulness' into this. This is the idea of bringing your mind and body back to 'the natural world' through grounding, and focusing on the moment. I learned this in my Regulation Research, which also touches on the importance of the senses for the same reason. It could be interesting to encourage this, through the use of game components such as sound, visual and interactions. Interactions could provide haptic feedback which stimulate the players sense of touch, at the same time as being provided with visual displays and audio. Referring back to my essential experience, this would be great for providing players with the means to escape and distract themselves from negative thoughts or feelings. As well as this, encouraging players to engage with their senses can teach them ways to practice mindfulness and grounding in their own time, to lessen symptoms and sensations of anxiety and stress for example.
​
I especially liked the 'culinary experience' because it was a fun and playful way to combine technology with dining, which isn't often done. I think it could be a great idea to enhance this further by making it interactive. From a Games Designer's perspective, I'd love to see the use of motion sensors or touch-screen in a setting like this.
​
NEXT STEPS
Overall, I feel satisfied with my Sensory Research for this project as I have touched on the most important aspects of this already. I'd like to move on by documenting some of my Inspiration for these topics/themes which might influence my direction for this project.
​
The following page can be found here: Inspiration.