future dayspa

source:lucymcraenet
2015. Science Fiction Wellness – Replicating the feeling of being hugged, audiences temporarily hand their bodies over to a part–human, part–machine process that induces the body into a state of relaxation.

Guided by a therapist, participants enter a clean room and lay down underneath a pressurised sheet, as a controlled vacuum is applied to the entire body. Biometric technologies are integrated into each treatment capturing physiological changes to the body. Clients review their depth of their relaxation and how they compared to previous visitors.

The emotional changes brought on by restricted movement moves this work into the “market of pleasure” – Could new kinds of isolation be developed to treat spectrums of autism? Whether it’s ridding hangovers or treating social isolation, transcending people has great value.

Over 100 clients have been treated, some saying “it got rid of hangovers”, “felt like I was back inside the womb”. One client disclosed he suffered haphephobia; a fear being touched, and said it “felt like an embrace and could he take one home?” After his treatment, he responded, by hugging his therapist (the artist).
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
source:vimeocom
The Future Day Spa is a personlised, physiological experience delivering controlled vacuum pressure to the body replicating the feeling of being hugged. Guided by a therapist, participants hand their bodies over to a part–human, part–machine process inducing a state of relaxation. A collaboration between Qualcomm’s Inventor Lab, we integrated technologies for capturing biometric data to understand the physiological benefits of a treatment.

Trialled on over 100 individuals at LA’s re/code conference, one participant disclosed he denies himself physical contact with other humans, and at the end of his treatment responded (surprisingly) by hugging his therapist. Denying oneself of touch silences the release of oxytocin in the brain; a hormone said to be involved in social recognition and the formation of trust between people.

Originally designed to prepare the body for space, this unexpected response has raised parallels between behavioural effects of triggering oxytocin and possible applications the Future Day Spa could have on treating social isolation, autistic spectrums and depression.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
source:damnmagazinenet
SCI-FI-BASED WELLNESS
BE HUGGED TO FEEL FINE, SAYS LUCY MCRAE
Lucy McRae is a science-fiction artist, film- maker, and body architect, probing the frontiers of the body, health, and human adaptability. In her work, she tries to find new ways to respond to the complex futures we face, triggering the idea of tomorrow’s wellness with the project Future Day Spa. The visually iconic experiences she creates espouse technology and femininity. She invents scenarios in which the experience is a piece of scientific dramaturgy.

If you were thinking about discovering new frontiers for relaxation in the SPA of tomorrow, change your mind. What you are going to crave the most is someone hugging you, and the resulting shower of oxytocin. The Future Day Spa is a personalised, physiological experience delivering controlled vacuum pressure to the body, replicating the feeling of being hugged. It was originally designed to prepare the body for space journeys. All the research on the Future Day Spa is the result of randomly meeting a NASA economist on a bus (McRae’s projects are often steered by unusual serendipitous encounters). She later visited NASA to discuss ideas with space biologists. Her creative process continued, including hugging the end of a vacuum cleaner inside one of the membranes that NASA had developed – a lowerbody negative-pressure device from the 1960s that assists in pumping blood to the lower extremities of an astronaut’s body.

Guided by a therapist, the participants in Future Day Spa hand their bodies over to a part–human, part–machine process that induces a state of relaxation. In collaboration with Qualcomm® Inventor Lab, Lucy McRae integrated technologies for capturing biometric data in order to understand the physiological benefits of a treatment. Trialled on over 100 individuals, one participant disclosed beforehand that he denies himself physical contact with other humans, and at the end of his treatment he responded (surprisingly) by hugging his therapist. The release of oxytocin in the brain is involved in social recognition and the formation of trust between people. This unexpected response has raised parallels between the behavioural effects of triggering oxytocin and possible applications the Future Day Spa could have on treating social isolation, autistic spectrums, and depression. The next step is to detect the electrical activity in the brain during a Future Day Spa treatment and understand the role machine touch could have on the body and our emotions. “I look for beauty in the biological, responding to future scenarios like space travel, to radically transform the life sciences”, says the artist. “I want to spearhead a health revolution and impact the way people embody the future.”

Trained in classical ballet and interior design, McRae’s artistic study of technology began during her formative years at Philips Design. She led the technology company’s far–future research lab in developing stretchable electronics, an electronic tattoo, and a range of emotion- sensing dresses that were awarded TIME’s Best Inventions of 2007. Lucy is a TED Fellow (2012) and has inspired audiences at London’s Royal College of Physicians (2014) and Royal Albert Hall (2013), as well as the Venice Biennale architecture jury (2012).

The Future Day Spa project employed wireless technologies for measuring biometric data in order to begin understanding the physiological capabilities of a treatment. The next step is to detect the electrical activity in the brain during a Future Day Spa treatment and understand how machine/ touch could affect the body and our emotions.