Meditation, in particular, closed-eye meditation is a skill that many people find difficult to do. While it may seem that the task of focussing on nothing is inherently easy, the average human attention span has dropped to 8 seconds, meaning that it is almost impossible to not get distracted during a closed-eye meditation exercise. Focused-attention meditation (FAM) is an alternative form of meditation that encourages the participant to focus on a particular object as a means of mindfulness. Cymbiotica aims to enhance this user/object connection by translating one’s brainwaves to create an audio-visual display of cymatic patterns and sonofied brainwaves. Studies have indicated that neurofeedback is an effective method of brain entrainment. By utilising neurofeedback technology, the experience of mediation can be significantly enhanced. Through creating this interactive audio-visual experience, the benefits of meditation and mindfulness can be enjoyed by a larger audience.

For an engaging visual experience, it was important to design and create a Cymascope which is as accurate as possible. The construction of the Cymascope has been thoughtfully designed, using parts and materials which will optimise the production of cymatic patterns. With features such as a mechanical wave driver over a regular speaker, as well as a machined billet aluminium body to reduce secondary vibration.

The role of this design research has been to provide a proof of concept for the Cymbiotica system. To validate that cymatic feedback is an effective means of improving focus in meditation. By conducting the in-depth case study of Cymbiotica, data was gathered suggesting strong potential for it to aid in FAM.

Further development of Cymbiotica would see the creation of an easily accessible system, suitable for environments like immersive yoga and wellness studios, but also as a technology that can be used by researchers to explore further relationships between brainwaves and cymatics. This research also brings the potential of cymatic imagery into the spotlight for future applications in the field of wellbeing, assistive & medical technologies.