Recharging Capsules


This blog post is inspired by Fing’s public speaking class. For our final presentation, we were asked to talk about an art we would like to leave at Uni. I chose to do something more technology-based, and I realized that what I was creating was basically a mini-utopia: recharging capsules.
The idea is that we place capsules that go into the walls of Uni (like hotel capsules in Tokyo). Inside, students are only allowed to rest. Once the student is in, they can set the temperture settings, light settings, and choose to have some sort of background noise or not (of course, these capsules would be sound-proof.) There could also be a computer system that saves every person’s settings so they may have the option of chosing their last tempurature, lighting, and sound. More importantly, the student can set a time for an alarm to go off that will wake them up in time for the next class period. Once all the settings are set, students lay down in the comfy capsule while sleep-inducing essences fill the space and clear the sinuses. Another vapor will fill the capsule as well that allows students to literally breathe in vitamins and minerals. The environment allows for an ideal nap and recharge of the mind and body. Once the student is done with their nap, the capsules throughly cleans itself to prevent any germs from spreading.
            Even though it sounds super utopic, the recharging capsules stem from a completely logical series of thoughts that I think all of us have. Uni students, and many students in general, often have a hard time taking care of their bodies and minds and just relaxing.
(As a side note: I also thought about how these capsules are sort of like soma in the sense that they could bring immediate relief and calmness to people. Obviously there are differences, but I they both aim towards similar things.)
Thoughts?

-Ayah Jaber

Comments

  1. RaineMay 16, 2019 at 8:34 PM

    That's an interesting idea! The capsules you're describing reminded me of sensory deprivation tanks a little bit and I think that might be good for Uni students. There aren't really many quiet places in the building where students can just be calm and these might help. Are they like soma? Maybe a little bit, but they aren't enforced and they don't have the purpose of making people submit to the government (I hope).

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  2. Ayat JaberMay 17, 2019 at 3:20 AM

    This sounds like a pretty cool and useful idea! I would agree that things like these, little personal mini-spaces designed to calm the body and provide self-care, are like little utopias in the middle of the day. There are healthy ways to care for ourselves, and unhealthy ways to care for ourselves, but either way you're trying to reach a utopia. You just decide whether that's gonna be a recharging capsule break or soma intoxication.

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  3. Samantha ChurovichMay 17, 2019 at 7:15 AM

    Ayah, I love this so much. I seriously adore this idea and think it would do wonders for students and people everywhere. Uni especially could use more spaces like this that would enable students to feel safe, rested, and rejuvenated. And the best part is that I don't see any correlation to soma or any other toxic substance! It's a win-win!

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  4. Sarah H.May 17, 2019 at 3:34 PM

    I love this idea! I especially see value in creating a comfortable and quiet space to sleep at uni because the couches in the lounge can only do so much. I don't see this idea as related to soma at all and this idea has actually been implemented for office workers in big cities.

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  5. Brandon van der DonkMay 20, 2019 at 9:08 AM

    Recharging capsules like these would be incredible, especially with their self-cleaning feature, which would be a welcome change from the stains and crumbs that cover all of Uni's other furniture. The only problem (aside from the cost) that could arise is with the "only allowed to rest" rule, since I'm sure that the capsules would be extremely popular for pretty much everything (though I guess the sleep-inducing essences could address this).

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  6. UDblogMay 21, 2019 at 10:10 AM

    This seems like it could provide a lot of benefits to the Uni community. I know that I've tried to go to sleep in the hallway before, as I'm sure we all have, and while I kinda succeeded, it certainly wasn't super deep or relaxing sleep. Obviously, I'm not sure how we could afford this, but even just sound and light-proofed boxes with some air holes could be extremely useful for students.
    -Sasha

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  7. Steven BlankeMay 21, 2019 at 10:30 AM

    These sound incredible. Let me know when you invent it, and I will buy it! Being able to "recharge" would present incredible opportunities in the health of students, and it could be used outside of school as well. I'm sure they would be very successful and very publicized and a whole new industry would be formed around them

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  8. Sparsh S.May 21, 2019 at 11:09 AM

    These capsules would be great for students needing to destress in a healthy and superficial environment. I'm sure everyone, not just Uni students, would want to have a personalized capsule of their own. Also, I believe their uses would extend beyond napping, replacing beds as the primary mode of daily sleep or maybe replacing cubicles at offices to promote work instead of sleep. With all its uses, these capsules will revolutionize society and I hope they are developed one day as I would definitely buy one.

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  9. Neha AluruMay 21, 2019 at 6:23 PM

    This sounds like such a good idea! If Uni implemented something like this, I think the overall physical and mental health of Uni students would drastically improve. While reading your description about the capsules, I hadn't made a connection to soma but now that you mention it, I do see the similarities. This is an amazing idea of a technology that I hope will become real in the future.

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  10. Dominick LongMay 21, 2019 at 8:05 PM

    I think the comparison to Soma is interesting, because I think that most of us would say that Soma is bad, while also saying something like this is good, even when they are essentially the same thing.

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