project relaxproject relax will produce an android app that can be paired with a zephyr bioharness...

Project Relax

Project Proposal

sRESPOdair Fernandes

Jason Harris

Sarah Vance

Department of Computer Science and Engineering

Texas A&M University

September 22, 2013

CSCE 482 Project Proposal

Table of Contents

1 Executive summary .................................................................................................................... 3

2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4

2.1 Problem background ............................................................................................................ 4

2.2 Needs statement................................................................................................................... 4

2.3 Goal and objectives .............................................................................................................. 4

2.4 Design constraints and feasibility …..................................................................................... 4

3 Literature and technical survey .................................................................................................. 5

4 Proposed work ........................................................................................................................... 7

4.1 Evaluation of alternative solutions ........................................................................................ 7

4.2 Design specifications........................................................................................................... 10

4.3 Approach for design validation ............................................................................................ 12

5 Engineering standards .............................................................................................................. 13

5.1 Project management ........................................................................................................... 13

5.2 Schedule of tasks, Pert and Gantt charts .......................................................................... 14

5.3 Economic analysis .............................................................................................................. 16

5.4 Societal, safety and environmental analysis....................................................................... 17

5.5 Itemized budget ................................................................................................................... 17

6 References ................................................................................................................................ 17

7 Appendices ............................................................................................................................... 18

7.1 Product datasheets ............................................................................................................. 18

7.2 Bios and CVs....................................................................................................................... 18


1. Executive summary

Maintaining a calm breathing rate is essential to keeping stress levels low. However, 22 percent of the US reports experiencing extreme stress1. This number is daunting, but Project Relax aims to lower it.

Project Relax, furthermore known as sRESP, has a simple goal: train users to keep their breathing rate calm (57 breaths/minute) through a noninvasive biofeedback training strategy. Project Relax aims to be an unobtrusive biofeedback process that will help train users to keep their breathing rate calm. To do this, Project Relax will give the user positive audio when the user has a calm breathing rate. When the user’s breathing rate quickens, signaling rising stress levels, Project Relax will gently remind them to return their breathing to a calm state.

sRESP will use many technologies to assist users to keep their breathing rate at a calm level. The first of which is a Bluetooth enabled breathing rate monitor, the Bioharness from Zephyr Technologies. This piece of technology will be critical to sRESP as it will collect data about the user’s breathing rate. This information will be given to an advanced Android Application, built by the Project Relax team, that will interpret this data and respond accordingly. The Android App will play music to the user with a simple goal in mind: reward the user for correct, calm breathing and gently remind the user that their breathing has left a calm state. By analyzing the breathing rate data collected by the Bioharness, the Project Relax App will change audio playback to suit the user’s current state. If the user is breathing calmly (57 breaths/minute) then the App will play positive sounds. If the user’s breaths quicken, then the App will play neutral/negative sounds to remind the user to slow their breathing. When the user has reacted appropriately, the positive sounds will return.

The Project Relax team has conducted much research to ensure the viability of the project and to address any initial design concerns. The platform on which to build the project was a major concern in the initial design research. The best suit for Project Relax is to build an Android App which will then communicate with the Zephyr Bioharness. Other platforms, like iOS or a website based implementation, aren’t viable for either cost reasons or lack of desired functionality. The Zephyr Bioharness was provided by the Computer Science Department of Texas A&M University, and thus is a staple of our technologies that was not up for discussion. The need for such a product like the one that Project Relax will produce was also a major concern for the team. After researching available products, we found that no similar product is available today. This allows Project Relax to target a new, niche market that is of yet untapped. Similarly, it is clear to see that there is certainly a need for a product that will train users to keep their breathing calm and thus lower their stress levels: nearly a quarter of the 300 Million Americans reported extreme stress levels1. This yields a vast potential market.

Project Relax will produce an Android App that can be paired with a Zephyr Bioharness to help users maintain a calm breathing rate. The finished product will be lightweight, and easy to use while the user multitasks. Because of its unobtrusive training nature, the product will become easier to use and more effective the longer that the user uses it. Also, the user will experience longterm benefits from the biofeedback training provided. All in all, Project Relax will be a simple way for people to learn to keep their breathing rate calm, and in turn, lower their overall stress levels.


2. Introduction

2.1 Problem background

Research has shown that “[d]eep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body. This is because when you breathe deeply it sends a message to your brain to calm down and relax.”2 though it is known that regulating one’s breathing can reduce stress levels, not many people take advantage of this information. The reason is that there is no convenient, portable way to monitor breath rate in every day situations. While there are some systems that monitor respiration and provide feedback, it is all visual; unless the user is staring at their computer or phone screen, they cannot receive any feedback. A system is needed that allows users to get feedback without distracting them from completing other tasks.

2.2 Needs statement

There is a need to have a convenient, portable system that helps users control their breathing by providing audio feedback.

2.3 Goal and objectives

The goal of sRESP is to provide a convenient system that monitors respiration rate and provides musical feedback to help the user control breathing and reduce stress.

The following is a list of objectives to be considered in the development of our product.

1. Usable in a typical work/study area2. Facilitates lower breathing rates3. Provides feedback to the user about their breathing rate4. Sounds/music cannot be distracting or annoying

2.4 Design constraints and feasibility

This product has a few technical constraints that are detailed below.

Because the goal of sRESP is to provide an easy way for people to monitor their breathing rate and get feedback on it, one design constraint is usability. The breath rate monitor cannot be a large piece of equipment because that would deter the user from using it in common work and/or study areas. Therefore, sRESP must use the discrete Zephyr BioHarness to monitor the user’s respiration.

Using the Zephyr BioHarness introduces a design constraint because it requires a Bluetooth connection. Therefore, a web application cannot be used to run the sRESP system since websites cannot access a computer’s or cell phone’s Bluetooth connection. This also means that any user that wants to use sRESP must have a device that has Bluetooth capabilities.

Another constraint to consider is the music and/or sounds that will be played. When breathing correctly, the user of sRESP must be able to listen to the music/sounds for extended periods of


time without becoming bored or annoyed. In contrast, when the user’s breathing rate gets too fast, disruptive and/or unpleasant sounds/music should remind them to lower their breath count. Although this music/sound must be unpleasant, it should not be displeasing to the point that user stops using sRESP since the goal is for the user to lower their respiration rate back down to 57 breaths per minutes.

In addition to the constraints placed on what the music/sounds should sound like, another constraint is placed on what kind of tracks sRESP can use, depending on which type of manipulation will be done to the music. In order to add in and take away specific musical qualities and/or sounds, the music tracks that the sRESP system can use are limited to those that have multiple channels. For example, a song may have the bass drum on one channel, the snare drum one channel, the lyrics on one channel, and so on.

The project is very feasible due to the fact that the BioHarness not only has a builtin respiration rate monitor, but also can connect to any android device via bluetooth. In addition, by using specific android application packages, such as audio.media.SoundPool, the audio realtime layering and audio distortion will be easier to implement.

3. Literature and technical survey

Prior research and development efforts that are specifically related to the goals of sRESP were researched and analyzed in order to find related projects and products. An overview of five relevant products and projects are given below:

1. MindPlace’s Light and Sound Machines3 promise similar results to the desired results of sRESP. Their flagship Procyon Light and Sound Machine utilizes visual and audio signals to promote a meditative state to the user. Specifically, the user wears Ganzframes, eyewear that has userfacing lights. These lights are either pulsed or patterned to provide a visual stimulant intended to calm the user and ultimately promote a meditative state. Simultaneously, the Procyon unit provides audio signals to the user to further stimulate the user with the ultimate goal of a meditative state.

MindPlace’s Procyon unit has similar goals of sRESP, however not identical. sRESP aims to promote calm breathing by means of biofeedback provided by the breathing rate sensor combined with the Android App. Where the Procyon unit simply gives calming or relaxing signals to the user, it provides no way of interacting with the current state of the user. sRESP allows the user to learn to keep their breathing under control through biofeedback, so that the user will get lasting results from using sRESP.

2. Sound Health Products, Inc. has a host of products designed to promote relaxation, improve sleep, relieve stress and others4. Their Serene product claims to reduce heart rate by several beats per minute, along with reducing stress and achieving relaxation. Serene aims to achieve these things through simple audio playback. According to their description, “Like many great products, the unique sound blend in Serene was discovered by accident. While doing research on anxiety and heart rate, it was discovered that a specific sound reduced heart by several beats per minute.” The


product consists of one audio CD.

The aim of this product is similar to that of sRESP. In essence, Serene aims to calm the body’s heart rate. sRESP, on the other hand, aims to calm the body’s respiration rate. However, the similarities between these products extend no further. Serene has no form of biofeedback, and so cannot train the user to better control their body’s core functions to promote a relaxed state. sRESP has this biofeedback element, which will provide the training described above.

3. A study published in October 2010 reveals results obtained by researching and observing the “Effect of slow abdominal breathing combined with biofeedback on blood pressure and heart rate variability in prehypertension”5. Study subjects were set to breathe at a rate of 6 breathes per minute, and were given biofeedback training on their blood pressure in hopes of preventing hypertension. The study results were hopeful: “Slow abdominal breathing combined with EMG biofeedback is an effective intervention to manage prehypertension”.

sRESP has very similar goals and means to the objective of this study. The study published used biofeedback to train study participants to keep their blood pressure low, while the study participants were also using a slow breathing technique. sRESP aims to use biofeedback techniques to promote a steady, calm breathing pattern to keep the user’s body in a calm state. Although the study aimed specifically for preventing the onset of hypertension, sRESP has a more broad goal of keeping user’s calm by breathing slowly.

The results of this study give an initial viability verification to sRESP. Although the study methods aren’t identical to the methods used by sRESP, they are closely related and have a strong connection which will likely promote similar results in sRESP.

4. The StressEaser Portable Biofeedback Device is a portable, handheld device that is targeted toward reducing stress through biofeedback6. The product claims to help “you learn to activate your body's natural relaxation response in minutes without the use of medication.” This device sells for upwards of $120 and is highly rated amongst customers. The device uses an infrared sensor to monitor Heart Rate Variability for its user and displays it visually on a builtin screen. This allows the user to view their heart rate variability, and adjust their breathing and stress levels to achieve a more relaxed and calm state.

The StressEaser provides similar functionality to the goals of sRESP. They both use biofeedback techniques to assist the user achieve a more calm state. However, the StressEaser is much more invasive. Specifically, the user must choose to grab the device, and use it for a short amount of time to monitor their Heart Rate Variability and analyze this data to make necessary adjustments to their behavior. With sRESP, this process is much easier and simpler for the user. Having a constant, background biofeedback mechanism will allow users to use this while performing other tasks. For example, a user may use sRESP while they are at their desk at work, or writing


documents at home. If the user gets frustrated and their breathing quickens (signaling a stressed state), sRESP will gently remind them to calm their breathing. This process will detract from their focus minimally, unlike the StressEaser. Also, sRESP trains users to constantly have a calm breathing pattern, so that the users experience the desired benefits long after using sRESP. In essence, sRESP will provide a more userfriendly and effective means to promote a calm state in users than the StressEaser.

5. A closely related application to sRESP is iBiofeedback7 iOS app that uses a wireless heart rate monitor, which straps around the users chest and communicates with their iOS device. The app uses heart rate information collected by the heart rate monitor to inform the user of their stress level. From this stress level, the app presents different ‘healing modules’. These ‘healing modules’ aim to help users achieve various goals such as a quiet mind, or a better meditative state.

iBiofeedback and sRESP are similar but have markedly different goals and means. iBiofeedback presents the user with heart rate information, but does little to provide constructive biofeedback on this information. It simply presents the user with different audio tracks aimed to help heal the user in different forms, or to better the user in different forms. On the other hand, sRESP uses breathing rate information collected in realtime to provide the user with appropriate audio which promotes the user’s relaxed state. When done in total, the sRESP system can be used in the background, without much thought or work required from the user. iBiofeedback requires a large amount of work from the user: the user must analyze their heart rate to choose which ‘healing module’ to engage.

sRESP differs from iBiofeedback in many ways. Both have different goals, and both have different means to achieve these goals. Because of this, these two applications can be regarded as quite dissimilar.

4. Proposed work

4.1 Evaluation of alternative solutions

The desired functionality of sRESP is to provide appropriate audio signals to users to help them adjust their breathing patterns to become more relaxed. Keeping this in mind, the way in which this is accomplished can vary greatly. An initial proposal was to create an Android app which would use the builtin bluetooth to communicate with the Zephyr Bioharness. A review of the possible alternate solutions is as follows:

1. A website based approach could yield great benefits for sRESP. The main advantage of a webbased approach is the portability: any phone, laptop, tablet, or desktop can use sRESP, rather than only Android devices.

The Web Audio API8 provides the audio mixing capabilities that sRESP would need to mix audio tracks. The Web Audio API provides very advanced audio control, and


specifically can be used to crossfade audio tracks and distort tracks in realtime to obtain the desired audio output.

The Web Audio API suffers in other areas, however. It is not supported in all major browsers, and thus sRESP would not be available universally. Most notably, Internet Explorer 10 does not support the Web Audio API. Chrome, Firefox, and Safari all provide partial support for the Web Audio API. Also, iOS Safari provides partial support as does Chrome for Android9. These limitations are discouraging, but provide full support for sRESP’s desired usage. These platforms account for all of our initial audience and much more. Because of this, the Web Audio API is a good fit for sRESP. However, using a website based service is not viable as Android and iOS do not support bluetooth device connectivity from a website, only an installed app. Because of this limitation, a webbased approach is unlikely to yield positive results for sRESP.

2. Building sRESP for use on a bluetooth enabled computer is another alternative solution. Some advantages to this approach include: laptops and desktops have much more computing power available than smart phones today, and so no performance issues would likely arise. Likewise, battery drain is less of a concern on computers over smart phones or even not a concern at all in various situations. However, this approach has problems associated with it as well.

Bluetooth capability is sparsely supported in desktops today. Laptops, due to their portable nature, have higher support for Bluetooth, but availability is still a concern. Also worth noting is the separation amongst operating systems. sRESP would need to be built amongst Windows machines and Mac machines to get a vast majority of market share. A cripling concern with this approach is portability. With a smart phone based approach, users can access sRESP anywhere they have their smart phone. This would allow them to use it during their commute, at work, or at home. With a computer based approach, the user would need to be in front of a computer for sRESP to work, and so would limit use to a small fraction of user’s time. Because of these limiting factors, this solution is unlikely to provide the desired outcome for sRESP.

3. Instead of monitoring breathing rate as sRESP’s key metric, an alternate solution would be to monitor user’s heart rate. In this approach, an elevated heart rate would indicate a high stress level, and so sRESP would deliver audio that signals the user to get back to a calm state. This approach could prove to be more versatile, as the availability of bluetooth enabled heart rate monitors is very high, whereas very few bluetooth enabled breathing rate monitors are available. However, this approach suffers a key flaw: people cannot control their heart rates directly, but they can directly control their breathing rates. Because of this, users could have negative experiences with sRESP, and they would also not benefit from the biofeedback training that sRESP would provide with a breathing rate sensor. Because of this flaw, a heart rate monitor approach is unlikely to yield desired results for sRESP.

4. Instead of monitoring breathing rate, or heart rate as sRESP’s key metric, an alternate


solution would be to use the human skin’s conductance level to measure stress levels. The skin’s conductance level changes as stress levels change, with a delay of 13 seconds, and is commonly used in biofeedback data collection [13]. Because the skin’s conductance level is a measure of the body’s stress level, this metric may be more appropriate for sRESP, as breathing rate can be at a calm level while stress levels are elevated. However, skin conductance levels are controlled autonomically and thus can be a better indicator of stress levels. However, breathing rate is more appropriate as a training method to sRESP’s users. Because breathing rate is easily controlled by a person, and that this can lead to maintaining lower stress levels, breathing rate is a more suitable measure for sRESP’s goals and objectives.

5. An alternative solution that was explored for sRESP was to not use audio feedback, and instead rely on haptic feedback. With this approach, the user would receive a form of tactical feedback to notify them that their breathing rate should be lowered. The main advantage of this approach over audio feedback is that this can be used in nearly all situations, where audio feedback is more limiting. For example, this approach could be used by a user in a staff meeting, or while giving a presentation. However, this approach was not chosen for sRESP because the prospect of gradual learning through gentle audio feedback fits sRESP’s goals more appropriately. Haptic feedback through a vibration or similar feedback would serve more as a onetime warning, and would not allow users any gradual feedback with the differing levels of their breathing rate.


4.2 Design specifications

The solution chosen to address the needs of sResp is the Android application. The hardware needed is an Android device, a Zephyr BioHarness chest belt, and earphones (optional). In addition, the software needed is an Android application with bluetooth connectivity in order to communicate with the Zephyr BioHarness.

The Android device Android phones will be provided by the Texas A&M University Department of Computer Science. The specification of these test devices are as yet unknown. A minimum requirement for these test devices is Bluetooth capability to match the Zephyr BioHarness’s Bluetooth capability.

The Zephyr BioHarness A lightweight, chestworn strap that incorporates electrocardiogram and breathing rate sensors for realtime breathing rate monitoring. The BioHarness belt has a soft area of contact and it is comfortable for the user. It contains a module that has an On/Off button in the front and several sensors in the back10. For the purposes of sRESP, this device will help us measure the breathing rate of the subject.


The Android Application The Android App will be used to interact with the BioHarness belt. Zephyr provides a sample Android application11 that can be used to build our application on top of. Since it already has the bluetooth connection code, it allows us a running start on the application. With this material, we will be able to jump start our development. In addition, we will use several other packages from the Android API12 such as:

1. android.app contains highlevel classes encapsulating the overall Android application model. An Android application is defined using one or more of Android's four core application components. We will only use one of those four which is the “activity”. An Activity is an application component that provides a screen with which users can interact.

2. android.bluetooth provides Bluetooth management functionality, such as scanning for devices, connecting with devices, and managing data transfer between devices. We will use this to communicate with the Bioharness belt.

3. android.graphics that provides low level graphics tools such as canvases, color filters, points, and rectangles that let you handle drawing to the screen directly. The graphics will be used to give a pleasant Graphical User Interface to the users, to better their experience with Project Relax.

4. android.media.SoundPool allows us to layer multiple audio tracks simultaneously and inrealtime. With this approach, the app would have separate audio files which can then belayered or dislayered to create the appropriate audio effect.

a. android.media.SoundPool also allows us to modify pitch and/or playback speed inrealtime. If an audio distortion based implementation is chosen, SoundPool willprovide the distortion ability in realtime.

The Music Selection block of Figure 1 represents that the audio tracks will be statically stored in the application, instead of having the user pick his/her preferred audio tracks, in order to provide an easier implementation as well as a better user experience as we can thoroughly test the sounds and the outcome of using these sounds with the application. The sound tracks will be chosen in such a way to be positive to the general population, so the sound selection does not alienate any of our users.

The Monitor Display of Figure 1 will show the user’s realtime breathing rate (in form of wave or numeric values). At any point in time, the application will display both the ideal breathing rate and the user’s current breathing rate to allow the user to see by how much the differ. By doing this, the user gets feedback of his/her actual state and can then adjust their breathing until his/her breathing rate value approximates the rate of the ideal value.

The Control Display of Figure 1 will be a simple and intuitive display. It will contain the main graphical user interface (GUI) for the user to interact with the application such as track style selection, volume controls, and connectivity to the BioHarness.

Two approaches are being considered for the Audio Processing block of Figure 1. The first one


http://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/Activity.html

is that the user has a list of songs to choose from. Then, we apply distortion to that chosen track in order to illustrate to the user how he/she is breathing. The other approach is to have multiple channels that we then overlay according to the user’s breathing rate.

All in all, the Project Relax team will build a simple and intuitive Android application that contains a monitor and control displays, music selection, and audio processing with which we will be easily able to interact and communicate with the BioHarness module. These guidelines for sRESP will be expanded on during development and further research.

An overview of the data flow of the entire application is given in the below diagram:

Figure 2: Application Diagram

4.3 Approach for design validation

To start, in the developing stages of the product the main testers will be the three developers of the project. These tests will be done often in order to catch errors and improve the design and user experience as soon as possible. In addition, time is a key aspect in this project considering that we only have a semester to complete the project. Because of this, early and consistent testing will catch as many errors and inconsistencies that the software and hardware could


surface. Also, we should repeat previous tests made in the product if we change existing components of software and/or hardware.

The android devices and the BioHarness should be working properly before we begin testing the application, to ensure a solid grounding on which to build the application. In addition, unit tests and user tests will ensure the connectivity of the android devices to the Zephyr BioHarness as well as ensuring the proper functioning of the audio manipulation and playback mechanisms.

Another series of tests will be made to the software to ensure that it is easy and intuitive to use, the data is recorded precisely.

We will also test the application with and without the audio component. The purpose of this test is to compare the breathing rates recorded and check if the the ones with the audio component are lower.

Next, we will conduct enduser testing by collecting test subjects (preferably other than members of the CSCE 482 class) to try the product in total and provide feedback. With this we will be able to have an accurate idea of how ready the product is for market and what needs to be changed to make the users as happy as possible.

All of these steps and processes will lead to a final product that has the possibility of success if taken to market.

5. Engineering standards

5.1 Project management

Below is a brief list of team member qualifications:

1. Odair Fernandes: Leadership skills with leadership positions in multiple organizations as well as inclusion in multiple Honor Societies.

2. Sarah Vance: Development Experience and knowledge with Java (Android applicable) and business savvy with inclusion in a local business startup.

3. Jason Harris: Heavy Development Experience, with experience in Android and iOS projects.

In lieu of each team member’s unique strengths, each member will be assigned various roles. For Odair, these roles include team leader, developmental progress tracking, conducting group meetings, and a developer. These roles uniquely fit Odair as he has the most leadership skills and experience. Similarly, Jason’s roles include system designer and lead developer, as his skills and experience align with these roles. Sarah’s roles also align with her skills: she will be in charge of finances and purchasing, testing, client relations, documentation, as well as a developer. All together, each member of the team plays a role in the development and


documentation of Project Relax. Any and all team duties can change dynamically, as we will practice Agile and Scrum development.

There are three project specific roles for sRESP. These roles were calculated and assigned as follows:

1. BioHarness Developer: The BioHarness developer will be in charge of any and all communication between the Android device and the BioHarness. They will be in charge of controlling the BioHarness, and the transfer of data between the Android device and the BioHarness. In addition, they will be in charge of collecting and interpreting breathing rate data from the BioHarness. This role is assigned to Sarah Vance.

2. GUI Developer: The GUI developer will be in charge of visualizing the user’s respiration rate. They will also be in charge of audio controls, music selections controls, and any and all menu displays. This role is assigned to Odair Fernandes.

3. Audio Developer: The audio developer will be in charge of researching and finding appropriate audio tracks. They will also be in charge of mixing or distorting the audio in realtime to match the user’s current respiration rate. This role is assigned to Jason Harris.

The Project Relax team will use GitHub as their version control software. Making this project public on GitHub will allow easy monitoring of source code by professors and teach assistants. Likewise, Git allows easy and powerful version control that will allow maximum productivity throughout development of the project.

Project Relax will also use Trello.com as their Scrum Board provider. Trello.com offers free collaborative boards that will provide simple project and development management. Since it is easy to view progress through the Scrum Board technique, Trello.com allows us to monitor our performance throughout development.

The Project Relax team has tentatively scheduled to meet on Mondays and Wednesdays from 12:00pm 1:45pm to work collaboratively outside of the inlab meeting times on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This time fits will with the team as all team members have classes surrounding this time slot and so aren’t going far out of their way for this meeting time. In addition, this time slot staggers the Tuesday/Thursday meetings to create a constant allotted work time for at least 4 days of the week. Further meeting times can be scheduled as necessary.

5.2 Schedule of tasks

A schedule of the individual work items of Project Relax is given below in a Gantt Chart below inFigure 3:


Figure 3 Schedule of tasks

This timeline allows ample time to prepare for the Demo scheduled for November 26 and the final presentations and reports that follow.

5.3 Economic analysis

1. Economical viability

We predict very good marketability of our product if it were to go into production. The unique basis on which our entire product lives, the Android OS, makes it free for us to distribute limitless copies of our product. This is because the distribution of the App is digital and furthermore handled seamlessly by the centralized Google Play store. The only economic impact of distributing our App in this fashion is that Android’s parent company, Google, takes 30% of revenue from the app. However, this cost is negligible as there are no classic costs of manufacturing and distribution. Users must purchase or have access to a Zephyr Bioharness, which is a major limiting factor in our economic viability. Because of the hefty initial cost (see Itemized Budget), the Bioharness is likely our limiting sales factor. However with efficient marketing strategies, the benefit of less stress will easily be able to persuade consumers to invest. Because of this, we predict our market viability to be excellent.

2. Sustainability

The product will be fragile, in terms of sustainability. Initially, the product will be designed to work with the Zephyr Bioharness and no other breathing rate sensor. This puts the product at the mercy of the Zephyr Bioharness’s success and availability. Also, the app will only be developed for one mobile platform: Android. A more sustainable solution includes developing the App for multiple platforms, or functional with multiple breathing sensors. Due to the nature of the Senior Design Capstone project, we will not be


pursuing a product that is more robust than initial design goals. If this product were to go to market, a major effort would be put forth to make it more sustainable.

3. Manufacturability

Manufacturability is not a concern for Project Relax. We do no manufacture either of our hardware components, and so the manufacturing concerns are not in our hands. The Bluetooth communication between the target Android phones and the Zephyr Bioharness are both maintained and handled by their respective manufacturers.

Creating a low resource usage app is Project Relax’s only concern, in terms of system performance. Since Android phones of all types are in use, it is key to target the largest audience possible by making Project Relax runnable on the largest amount of Android Devices possible. In order to do this, resource consumption and overall App performance will be a key metric when analyzing and implementing features into the App.

5.4 Societal, safety and environmental analysis

Project Relax offers great beneficial impacts to society. By helping society members remain calm and relaxed, overall society stress levels are set to decrease as well. This all depends on the extent to which Project Relax is utilize of course. However, it is clear to see that Project Relax will have a positive impact on society in this regard.

Due to the nature of Project Relax, no detrimental impacts to society are expected. Likewise, the team members have little to worry about in terms of safety precautions while working on the project. This is due to the fact that both technologies we will be using: Android devices and the Zephyr Bioharness are both mature and widely manufactured. All safety concerns have been dealt with and distributed in the user’s manual for both technologies. Damaging either of these technologies is possible from impacts such as dropping, or electrical surges due to an electrical mishap. Due to these concerns, regular safety precautions must be exhibited while using these technologies.

Due to the fact that Project Relax’s actual product (the Android App) is completely digital, there is no potential environmental impact to consider.

5.5 Itemized budget

(1) Zephyr BioHarness: 1 * ($85 + tax)

(1) Android Cellphone: 1 * ($200 + tax)

(1) Android Publishing Cost: 1 * ($25 + tax)

Total: $315 + tax

If sRESP were to go to market, production budget would consist of no costs, as distribution through the Google Play store is free. 30% of any revenue made from App sales in the Google


Play store is collected by Google as the distribution fee. Thus the production budget for sRESP totals to $0.

6. References

[1] American Psychological Association. (2011). "The Impact of Stress." [Online]. Available: http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2011/impact.aspx

[2] WebMD. (2011, May 11). “Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation.” [Online].Available:http://www.webmd.com/balance/stressmanagement/stressmanagementbreathingexercisesforrelaxation

[3] MindPlace. (2013, Septembre 16). ” The Leading Mind Machine Maker." [Online]. Available:http://www.mindplace.com/

[4] Soundhealth Products Inc. (2004). “Sound Healing, Biofeedback Therapy ..." [Online].Available: http://www.soundhealthproducts.com/

[5] Wang, ShuZhen et al. "Effect of slow abdominal breathing combined with biofeedback onblood pressure and heart rate variability in prehypertension." The Journal of Alternative andComplementary Medicine 16.10 (2010): 10391045.

[6] StressEraser. (2008). “Portable Biofeedback Device: Health ..." [Online]Available:http://www.amazon.com/StressEraserSE1PortableBiofeedbackDevice/dp/B001B8PIIE

[7] iTunes App Store. (2012, Septembre 16). "iBiofeedback for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad onthe iTunes App Store." [Online]. Available:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibiofeedback/id319107253?mt=8

[8] W3. (2011). "Web Audio API." [Online]. Available: http://www.w3.org/TR/webaudio/

[9] Can I Use. (2011). "Can I use Web Audio API." [Online]. Available: http://caniuse.com/audioapi

[10] D. Hroncheck. (2011, Jan 11). BioHarness from Zephyr Technology review [Online].Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i85HenHSSZI

[11] Zephyr Development Tools [Online]. Available:http://www.zephyranywhere.com/zephyrlabs/developmenttools/

[12g] Android Developers [Online]. Available:http://developer.android.com/reference/packages.html


http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.apa.org%2Fnews%2Fpress%2Freleases%2Fstress%2F2011%2Fimpact.aspx&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGHWMe82_X95uGs2tJIGGymJNh_EQ

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webmd.com%2Fbalance%2Fstress-management%2Fstress-management-breathing-exercises-for-relaxation&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFvWPOPnusSXL99dVn5_gh3OXbTbg

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.webmd.com%2Fbalance%2Fstress-management%2Fstress-management-breathing-exercises-for-relaxation&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNFvWPOPnusSXL99dVn5_gh3OXbTbg

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mindplace.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHuEDijZcBv9dGgaybs2NwVX1nUWA

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.soundhealthproducts.com%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGsvlgJ6y3njj6gIORpv2LGTF2e8w

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FStressEraser-SE-1-Portable-Biofeedback-Device%2Fdp%2FB001B8PIIE&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGUyF4QbP7wC1xtZufhJYEhUw9-_w

https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Fibiofeedback%2Fid319107253%3Fmt%3D8&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHjnd9tJJOEBsToHoghBjqVVzYtFg

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2FTR%2Fwebaudio%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNF5ZEa9PJt2GBocJSz4fSoFDgOBzQ

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fcaniuse.com%2Faudio-api&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHk75U1-6x_W-QVdqdfpZXxz85o6A

http://www.youtube.com/user/djhsthlm?feature=watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i85HenHSSZI

http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.zephyranywhere.com%2Fzephyr-labs%2Fdevelopment-tools%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHWsMDq-QRj2mEMd2Ns7aRGhpmUOg

http://developer.android.com/reference/packages.html

[13] Skin Conductance [Online]. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skin_conductance

7. Appendices

7.1 Product datasheets

The datasheet for the Zephyr BioHarness is included in this submission asBioHarnessDataSheet.pdf.

7.2 Bios and CVs

Odair Fernandes is a senior at Texas A&M and will obtain a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science in May 2014.

Odair graduated from the Portuguese School of Luanda with electrical engineer major, Angola in 2006. In 2007, he got admitted in first place to the Catholic University of Angola, but went to USA in his sophomore year.

In USA, he attended the English Language Institute for two semesters (Fall 09 and Spring 10) in order to learn English. In those two semester, Odair improved is English substantially winning two awards of Outstanding Achievement in Grammar (Fall 09) and Most Outstanding Full Time Student (Spring 10).

Then, Odair attended Blinn College (Fall 09 Spring 11) as a computer science major. In addition, was also admitted as member and officer at Alpha Phi Lambda from the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (Spring 10 11). The officer position occupied was the historian which was responsible for the the Facebook page, event organization, and photography coverage.

Finally, Odair Fernandes, majoring in computer science, transferred to Texas A&M (Summer 11). There, he was admitted to Upsilon Phi Epsilon Computer Science Honor Society (UPE) (Spring 13 Present).

Odair Fernandes has one more semester after the current one to graduate and is planning to start is career in and excited to apply his knowledge and experience on in field of expertise.

Odair Fernandes3803 Wellborn Rd # 425

Bryan, TX 77801

Home: (832) 2896601

Cell: (979) 7398161

[email protected]

∙ Objectives

Selfdeterminant and motivated computer scientist that is looking forward to get a fulltime job in


this area. In addition, help in the leadership of the team in order to have a healthy work environment and to help to reach the company’s goals

∙ Education

o Texas A&M University, College Station

o Graduation date: May 14

o Major: Computer Science

o Major GPR: 3.0 and Overall GPR: 3.2

∙ Activities

o Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (PTK) (Spring 10 11)

o Upsilon Phi Epsilon Honor Society (UPE) (Spring 13 Present)

o Officer position at PTK: Historian (responsible for the Facebook page maintenance, arrangement of events, and photography of events)

∙ Skills

o Confortable with computer science languages: C, C++

o Fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish

o Good knowledge of Internet security

∙ Honors

o Sponsored by Petroleum Minister of Luanda

o Outstanding achievement in Grammar 200 at English Language Institute (ELI) (Fall 08)

o Most Outstanding Fulltime student at English Language Institute (Spring 09)

o Outstanding officer at Alpha Phi Lambda chapter Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society (2011)

Sarah Vance800 Marion Pugh #315 (512)5172989College Station, TX 77840sarah[email protected]

EDUCATION Texas A&M University, College Station, TX Graduation:

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science May 2014


Minor in Art

Major GPA: 2.784 Cumulative GPA: 2.726

WORK EXPERIENCE Notequill June 2013 Present

UX Design, Software Development

∙ Internalize error messages and redirects

∙ Complete general programming tasks

∙ Aide with design elements

Shoe Dept. May 2013 – June 2013Cashier

•Operate cash register

•Organize sales floor

Michaels September 2008 – June 2009

Sales Clerk

•Put out new stock

•Organize sales floor

• Operate cash register

TECHNICAL SKILLS C++ Java PHP

LEADERSHIP Alpha Phi Omega, Texas A&M University January 2012

Blood Drive CoChairperson Through May 2012

•Moved a blood drive to a better location on campus

•Coordinated and set up a blood drive event on campus

•Organized and managed other members giving out fliers

Member August 2011May 2012

ACTIVITIES Big Event March 2012


Raked leaves for a family that needed help as a part of Texas A&MUniversity's communitywide service project

Aggie Habitat for Humanity January 2010 – May 2010Helped build a house for a family in need

Big Event March 2011Dug up shrubs for an elderly couple

Sarah Vance is an undergraduate Computer Science major with a minor in Art. During hertime as a student at Texas A&M University, she has studied many different areas within thecomputer science field and has balanced the technical course load with courses in art anddesign.

Sarah is an Entrepreneur in Residence(EIR) at Texas A&M’s student business incubator,Startup Aggieland. She works as a software developer and designer for Notequill, astudent developed startup. As a Notequill employee, Sarah has learned PHP and SQL,gained experience in general programming, and has also gained experience in the field ofweb design and development. As an EIR, Sarah has had the opportunity to speak to AggieAngle Network investors and has gained experience in entrepreneurialism and businessetiquette.

JASON [email protected]

EDUCATIONInProgress: Texas A&M University, College Station, TexasBachelor of Science in Computer Science, Mathematics MinorGraduation: May 2014

PROJECT EXPERIENCEiOS App Development

ObjectiveC, iOS Frameworks, HaXe, OpenFL, SVNI joined with William Guerra, a fellow Computer Scientist, to make an iOS game as a personal project. The App is called ‘Super Swipe’ and is available on the iOS App Store.

Data Movement and ManagementSQL, C#, ASP.NET, Entity Framework, TFS


As an Associate Software Consultant with Improving Enterprises, I worked closely with a client to transfer, interpret and transform data.

Website and Database DesignC#, ASP.NET, HTML, CSS, jQuery, Entity Framework, TFS

As an Associate Software Consultant with Improving Enterprises, I worked with a team of 6 to deliver a responsive, interactive, databasedriven website to our client.

TECHNICAL SKILLSKnowledge and experience of C++, C#, .NET, Java, HTML+CSS, jQuery, Python, SQL and Entity Framework. I have iOS, Android and Windows 8 App development experience, and am familiar with SVN, Git, and TFS.

Jason Harris is an Undergraduate student at Texas A&M University pursuing a degree in Computer Science. During his time at Texas A&M, he has studied both Mathematics and Computer Science. He is graduating in May of 2014 and intends to start his career as a software developer afterwards.

Jason is an avid software developer. Working as an Associate Software Consultant at Improving Enterprises, he was an integral part of two projects that are in production. Likewise, he explores many personal development opportunities, most recently of which is his venture to iOS development.


project relaxproject relax will produce an android app that can be paired with a zephyr bioharness...

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