coped
01
Master Thesis
2026
Overstimulation doesn't announce itself. It builds, until the room is too loud, the crowd too close, and your own heartbeat becomes the thing you can't outrun.
coped is a Sensory Overload Support System built to catch you before that fall.
By quietly reading your sound environment and heart rate, coped senses rising tension and offer small, grounding actions to help you cope and recover from sensory overload. It is designed to give users options, make sensory coping an unconscious decision and adapt not to isolate a user’s sensory needs.
We didn't want another $500 gadget that singles people out. We designed coped to work with what already works, earplugs, headphones and earmuffs. Instead, attaching coped to your current sensory tools. No conspicuous tech. No forced isolation. Just invisible support that keeps your sensory needs private.
Client:
Master Thesis
Date:
2026
Role:
coped gives an array of options. The first User Experience shows a user that is unable to remove themselves to recover. The sounds of the city and busy metro station bring the user to overstimulation. The system notices an alleviated heart rate and which sound environment the user finds themselves in. This sets off an alert, suggests the user manage their feeling of discomfort with a breathing exercise.
coped transforms AR glasses. Instead of being a device towards performance it becomes a Sensory Support System. The user can feel at peace without their support tool making them stand out. The user gets triggered by the sounds of the mall. coped suggests the user remove themselves from the triggering environment, sequentially finds and guides the user to a nearby safe space, in this instance a park.
This gives the user control over their experience. By offering a variety of environments to pick from but also giving the user freedom to interact with their VR-setting as they choose.
