Salvi Jaison

Echo. A responsive companion for emotional reflection

Echo is a physical companion designed to make vocal journaling feel more engaging and emotionally responsive. The idea came from looking at how people reflect on their thoughts and emotions. While writing can be time consuming, speaking can feel more natural and immediate. However, most vocal journaling tools stop at recording or transcribing what someone says. I wanted to explore what could happen if the system actually responded to the person while they were reflecting. Through a survey with 22 participants and interviews with 7 participants, I found that people valued reflection but often struggled with things like feeling overwhelmed, lack of time, forgetting, or not knowing where to begin. They also expressed a need for reflection to feel simple, private and supportive.

These insights shaped Echo as a combination of a mobile vocal journaling experience and a physical companion. Users speak through the app, while the physical product responds through facial expressions and ambient light. The expressions are intended to acknowledge what the user is expressing, while the changing light creates a calmer atmosphere for reflection. Testing early concepts showed that people found expressions more effective at communicating emotion, while light helped create a more reflective atmosphere. This led me to bring both together.

The final prototype combines a 3D printed translucent enclosure, TFT display, ESP32 and RGB LED ring, creating a small physical presence that feels approachable rather than clinical. Echo is ultimately an exploration of how a product can respond without judging, directing or trying to fix the user, simply creating a more supportive space to pause, express and reflect.