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During the recent RIMOWA Design Prize 2024, the winning entry came from Janne Kreimer and her wearable technology, RO. The Anhalt University student of Integrated Design presented a therapeutic smart vest wrapped with small, pod-like soft robots that swell with air when the wearer is anxious. These inflatable pods target the acupressure points around the body that can help reduce anxiety and calm the nerves of the wearer.
The design makes use of inflatable soft robots around a waistcoat as a way of combining exposure therapy with modern technology to address anxiety. The RO vest is crafted from TPU-coated nylon fabric, and gentle inflation is added or triggered to stimulate the acupressure points. Since the locations of these points differ depending on the user’s body shape, age and gender, Kreimer, under the mentorship of Andreas Murkudis, employs a body scan that creates a 3D digital model of the body of the wearer.
Once the body scan is complete, the system precisely adjusts the distances between the soft robots using algorithms so that these pods target the user’s acupressure points for anxiety correctly. In this way, the vest is tailored to the wearer’s needs to better activate their parasympathetic nervous system and calm them down in times of anxiety.
The RIMOWA Design Prize is a celebration of German design. Founded on values of innovation, inclusivity, and global change, the prize is defining a new voice for the German design industry and an initiative that converts potential into tangible projects that have a lasting impact on global issues.