Personal Project – First Pitch

I have always been fascinated by how the human body works and the science behind it. In particular, I have always wondered about how the brain works, what goes on behind its decisions, responses, and how these are reflected through our actions.

For this project, I was interested in exploring the brain and our psychological state during the most vulnerable or dire times. As I began to think about how our brain may behave and what our response may look like during this moment of vulnerability, I came to the realization that there are several nuances behind each person.

As I reflected upon existing tools to support people during these times, I noticed that many were based on a Western ideology of support and high technological ability which do not resonate with several cultural and ethnic groups. This led me to define a significant problem that I have personally observed and researched.

Families of people struggling with addiction in South Asian, Middle Eastern, and other Eastern cultural communities are left completely without support due to cultural shame and stigma around mental health. Existing tools are built on Western, clinical frameworks that don’t account for these cultural realities. No tool currently exists that calms a family member physiologically, speaks their language, and understands their cultural context well enough to actually help them.

Pain Points:

• Addiction affects families across all cultures but creates unique barriers in South Asian, Middle Eastern, East Asian, and other cultural communities.
• Cultural shame and stigma prevent families from ever taking the first step toward help.
• Existing resources are built on Western frameworks that fail to understand cultural nuances.
• Family members suffer in silence, watching someone they love struggle, with no guidance on how to help them.
• In these cultures, emotional expression is suppressed (especially for men) making conversation based tools ineffective.
• The physiological stress of watching a loved one’s addiction id not currently being addressed.

The target audience for this problem, solution, and project is a very niche group of ethnic or cultural individuals who struggle with addiction or mental health, along with the corresponding families that care about them, but do not know how to help.

These individuals can come in all ages or backgrounds, however an approximate age classification is individuals ranging from about 30 – 70 years of age. For the older members of this audience, there is great stigma (especially for men) surrounding help for mental health, which causes them struggles in the healthy management of emotions or addiction.

Moreover, coming from cultural backgrounds, many of these individuals lack technological skills; when paired with cultural nuances in diction and norms, these individuals are often left feeling isolated and become difficult for families to support. 

During my initial brainstorming and ideation sessions, I considered some solutions that I believed would solve the problem, could be created as a prototype within the given timeframe, and could be tested. However, though all solutions were legitimate and realistic solutions to the problem, some simply were not unique, testable, or feasible to create.

An app that empathizes with and consoles users experiencing mental health or addictive issues:

The idea of an app was an idea that I considered carefully throughout the entire process of ideation. I had initially envisioned a detailed app that would include a unique personalized and automated artificial intelligence that would be designed to support individuals experiencing addiction or mental health issues during the most difficult moments.

While this would have been testable, it did not completely address the problem and it was simply not feasible. I quickly found that navigating an app, especially for older generations and those with language barriers would be a major challenge.

Moreover, I also was forced to show realism in this phase of ideation. Due to my limited experience in coding, this would be a major learning curve that I believed would take away from the significance and true concept of this project.

A wearable device or tracker that monitors behavioural changes and alerts family members accordingly:

The idea of monitoring behavioural changes fascinated me at first, however I quickly realized that it would not fully address the problem and would include other problems. While monitoring behavioural changes is a logical and scientific approach, a wearable device or tracker may make individuals feel an invasion of privacy and can be easily taken off.

This idea would appeal more to the families of the individuals; however due to the isolation that individuals experience from their own families, they may not be comfortable sharing their behaviours and feeling controlled. Moreover other problems such as a lack of coding skills would plague my ability to create a prototype.

A physical device that people can connect with. With the click of a button, it triggers a culturally nuanced AI audio empathizer which consoles and provides people with comfort:

Ultimately, this is the solution that chose to create a prototype because it best addresses the problem and was the most feasible. More on this idea is explained under the prototype section. 

This solution is a physical device that includes a button. In times of need or emotional vulnerability, it is easily accessible for the struggling individual to press. Once it is pressed, an AI audio begins to play that speaks to the person in a calming and comforting manner in their language and understanding their cultural nuances.

The person has a conversation with this automated assistant until they feel comfortable and stable, from which point they can ask the audio for a recommendation or seek help of their choice. This prototype would go beyond addiction to create safe space for mental health in communities that have never had one. It includes several different components.

Physical Components

• Haptic feedback motors for calming vibrations
• LED lighting system for breathing guidance
• Built-in speaker and microphone for voice AI interaction
• Discreet design to look like an ordinary object, not a medical device
• 3D printed housing with handcrafted elements

AI Components

• Built using Claude 
• Multilingual capability: Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, Mandarin, and more
• Trained on CRAFT methodology and culturally specific communication strategies
• Voice-only interface. No text or screen
• Understands cultural norms around emotional expression and family honor

Testing Plan:

• Cannot test on actual families in crisis due to ethical boundaries
• Present prototype to addiction counselors for clinical validation
• Present to members of South Asian and other cultural communities for cultural accuracy
• Test whether biofeedback component effectively reduces stress
• Validate whether AI responses are culturally appropriate and helpful

Task List:

1. Through research into addiction psychology, cultural nuances, and responses during moments of vulnerability.
2. Address the learning curve by learning how to use 3D printing, using Claude to create a personalized AI, and audio and arduino installation within a physical device.
3. Design physical prototype and components
4. Construct physical prototype
5. Develop automated AI conversation framework, cultural adaptation, and audio integration
6. Integrate and test the prototype with families
7. Refine prototype based on feedback and validate with experts
8. Outline final presentation

Timeline (10 Weeks):

• Weeks 1-2: Deep research into addiction psychology, CRAFT methodology, and cultural stigma
• Weeks 3-4: Design physical prototype and source components
• Weeks 5-6: Build physical device and integrate sensors
• Week 7: Develop AI conversation framework and cultural adaptation
• Week 8: Integration and testing
• Weeks 9-10: Refinement, validation with experts, final presentation

Key Benchmarks:

• April 24th – May 1st – (Spare Week for Extra Focus)
• February 27th – Research Due
• March 6th – Learning and Technical Skills Mastery Due
• March 13th – Design for Physical Prototype + Components Due
• April 3rd – Physical Prototype Due
• April 10th – AI Framework Due
• April 17th – Integration and Testing Due
• April 24th – Final Adjustments + Prototype + Reflection Due