The Echo Wave Project
Visualizing Mental Health with TouchDesigner.
Client
The Making Of The Echo Wave Project
Challenge
Our team at Toronto Metropolitan University's Master of Digital Media program recently concluded The Echo Wave Project, an interactive art installation presented at the City of Toronto’s Future Makers exhibition. This project harnessed EEG technology and TouchDesigner to transform real-time brainwave data into abstract, immersive visuals, exploring the intricacies of mental health through art. Project Overview The Echo Wave Project invites participants to reflect on their inner emotional landscape by translating brainwave activity into evolving abstract visuals. Using the Emotiv INSIGHT EEG headset, we captured data linked to emotions like relaxation, stress, and excitement. This data influenced the dynamic visuals, creating a unique visual language that offers insight into the wearer’s mental and emotional states. As these brainwave patterns change, viewers visualize their emotions in real-time, making invisible mental experiences tangible.
Goal
TouchDesigner’s capabilities were vital to our project's success, as it allowed us to process real-time data from EEG readings into complex, responsive particle systems. Using TouchDesigner’s node-based structure, we developed custom visuals that responded to changes in the wearer’s emotions. For example, increased levels of excitement intensified particle motion and glow, while relaxation created clustering, symbolizing calm. The flexibility TouchDesigner provides is essential for creating a multisensory experience rooted in colour therapy. Colours were carefully chosen to represent emotional states—green for relaxation, blue for focus, and red for stress—enhancing each participant’s connection to the visual representation of their thoughts.
Result
To create the particle system, we started by designing a tube in TouchDesigner using a SOP (surface operator) and applying a sprinkle SOP to place a million points on its surface. A noise TOP (texture operator) was used to make the particles move around randomly. We incorporated a “life” component, which gave the particles a lifespan; they continuously died and respawned, allowing the system to evolve dynamically. Feedback and noise techniques, learned from a YouTube tutorial by Supermarket Sallad, were instrumental in refining this effect and creating a vibrant, responsive particle system. Once the particle system was finalized, we integrated data from the Emotiv INSIGHT headset using Open Sound Control (OSC). This allowed us to map real-time emotional data—Attention, Engagement, Excitement, Interest, Relaxation, and Stress—to specific parameters in the particle system.
