Scientists have invented a soothing gadget with fur

Stress is a scourge of modern society. What people have not come up with to fight this scourge. Medications, physiotherapy, gymnastics, yoga and "rage rooms" are all good. But, alas, each of the methods has contraindications for health or age. But the scientists did not give up and still succeeded. Recently, Cornell University in the USA announced the creation of an absolutely safe device for dealing with stress.

It has long been known that touching helps relieve stress as well as sleep or meditation. But it should be slow, gentle stroking of sensitive areas of the body where there are hairs. A forearm that meets all the requirements is ideal for these purposes. Touching reduces the feeling of anxiety, reduces the feeling of social isolation and even helps to overcome pain.

It remains to automate this process and see what happens. The researchers made a small device consisting of an electric motor, wires and a movable part with a piece of fur 3 × 2.5 cm. The device, weighing only 77 grams, is attached by straps to the forearm. When turned on, he strokes the skin of his forearm with fur.

24 volunteers aged 21 to 52 years were selected to test the device. These people performed the Trier Stress Test (Trier Social Stress Test), consisting of several cognitive tasks. Participants watched videos, prepared a report on the prospects of a fictional company, solved arithmetic problems.

Half of the participants in the experiment worked on the test with a stroking device on their hand, and half — without. Everyone also had a heart sensor attached to their chest that reads heart rate indicators. It turned out that the touch of the device was not intrusive or distracting. After completing the test, those people who used the device were asked to evaluate its performance.

There were only two indicators. In the first case, it was necessary to determine on a scale from 0 to 100 how much they were distracted by the device. In the second — how pleasant his touch was, from -100 to 100. It turned out that all participants in the experiment experienced anxiety when passing the test. But the people from the group with the devices were calmer than those who worked without them.

Almost everyone reported that the strokes were soothing. Someone even compared them to the emotional support of a loved one. No one said that the device interferes with the performance of tasks, but some admitted that they would like to control its operation themselves. An article about this experiment appeared in the Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies. The project manager, summing up, said that the results of the experiment were unexpected.