[headspace] is a series of wearable devices that extend the user's mind. As we rely more and more on technology, what will come next? If we could augment our feelings and memory with physical interfaces, how are they going to work? Just like we use mobile phones with numerous applications for uncountable purposes, could we extend our mind and/or body by physically expressing and sharing our thoughts and experience?

Often people say, "I know my heart well" or, conversely, "I don't know my heart either." Unlike the state of the body, the state of the mind feels uncontrollable. However, [headspace] blurs the dichotomy between mind and body and shows that mind, body, and environment are organically connected. [headspace], the mind extension tool move each of us into a network of interconnected connections, rather than a body of isolated minds.

The project speculates the future of physical interaction of human emotions and thoughts. It allows one to consider the impact of technology and design development in various aspects such as society, culture, and politics today and in the future. is a series of future wearable devices and hubs that help express emotions and experiences physically.

<headspace> operates physically by reading the user's experience and reaction immediately. There are various ways in which the device outputs the user's emotions and thoughts read. The model with multiple wings(hs1) moves the wings and also project an image onto the wing's electronic ink panel. In the second model(hs2), the balloons that hang over the device are inflated or deflated. In the last model(hs3), several optical fiber bundles vibrate and move. The wings, balloons, and fiber bundles responsible for output in each model can be separated from the device and delivered to others, and can also be collected into hubs with different shapes corresponding to them. The long candlestick-shaped hub has wings removed from hs1 models, the tree-like hub is decorated with brightly lit small balloons from hs2 models, and the low-floor hub is covered with fiber optic bundles from hs3 models.

Keunwook Kim introduces as an imaginary device that is likely to appear in the future where users can express their state of mind as a wearable device and share it with others. And through this project, since electronic devices such as smartphones have already become necessities of life, he said that in the future, we could be closely connected the contents of emotions, thoughts, and experiences will be with these machines.

As he said, smartphones, PCs, and tablets are indispensable elements in our daily life. We use these devices and gadgets to exchange ideas, find or store information, and preserve memories. Now, like prosthetics, we are using them to expand our senses and cognition. However, the wearable device of <headspace> responds immediately to the user without waiting for the user's input, unlike commonly used mobile devices. It also appears as if the body is working as an extension. Not only that, but you will be able to read raw thoughts, unconscious thoughts, and emotions that are not expressed in language or other forms. Also, the expression method is not a normal text or image, but a physical action or image output that the user cannot predict or control. Their delivery and collection methods are also different. Rather than being transmitted as digital information on the cloud or server, you can physically separate parts to deliver your thoughts and feelings to others, and you can also visit a designated place like a wish note on a Christmas tree or attach a lock to a wire mesh to create your own personal information. It leaves a memory, which forms a kind of collective memory.

The proposal of <headspace> is also an extension of the work that Keunwook has continued. He has conducted research on human-computer interaction based on technology and design. In particular, through observation of everyday objects and existing technologies, he finds possible new physical interactions between humans and other objects. Like his previous work , a robot made with the motif of a plant, he wants to break away from the human-centered communication method and present new possibilities and various options for communication between non-living things and living things. Going further from , he asks how we can understand and accept new expressions and records that can emerge when humans and objects are more closely connected, and what possibilities there are.

Written by Yena Ku

Translated by Keunwook Kim