A speculative project questioning the existence of wearables and our obsession in knowing our physical data
What if we constantly took measures to know exactly what was happening to our bodies daily? Hypochondriac is a collection of objects a user can wear that monitors their health and notifies them of abnormalities and symptoms they may have of serious illness. These objects vibrate and light up when they sense an issue that may be related to an illness. Every day, the user creates a report of their metrics with the main device (not worn) by pricking their finger on the device. It takes a drop of blood and analyzes it while taking information remotely from the devices worn by the user and prints a list of all abnormalities. The device is intended to create a sense of paranoia over small, normal changes in the body that may be more related to lifestyle rather than illness.
created with wood and copper wire
Today, people are starting to be more conscious of how their bodies are functioning, measuring things like heart rate, active calories, etc. This system is an extreme version of the desire to know the information in your body. In a normal state, these devices constantly take measurements, but vibrate and light up when an abnormality is sensed. The devices do not tell the user what the abnormality is. Until the wearer tests themselves on the main device, they cannot know exactly what is wrong or if there is anything wrong at all. They are left in a state of worry until they can test themselves. When they do, they receive a list of all of their imbalances, but no tangible explanation of the imbalances. The device acts as a hypochondriac for the user, creating a state of paranoia within the use about their own body, and creating a sense of dependency on these devices to know about their bodily health
Main Device: takes a blood test and communicates with the other devices attached to the body. Returns a report to the user
Neck/Spinal Cord attachment: Connects at the base of the neck and the skull (needles connect to spinal cord). Reads nerve information and neck stiffness/movement.
Arm Band: takes blood pressure, measures arm circumference, movement.
Ear piece: Connects to earlobe and inner ear. Acts as an oximeter and balance sensor.
Tooth/mouthpiece: Measures dental health
Wrist piece: Heart beat and sleep monitor.“