---
_id: '7162'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: Heart rate variability biofeedback has emerged as a validated intervention
for stress management and emotional regulation through coherence breathing techniques.
Existing biofeedback systems typically present cardiac and respiratory signals
as separate feedback channels or rely on discrete interface elements that fragment
attention and disrupt immersion. We present a design framework that extends Viscereality,
a bioresponsive VR framework originally developed for breath mapping, to integrate
multi-channel biofeedback including heart rate within immersive VR, centered on
a particle-based environment that functions as a spatial body-mapping interface.
By leveraging bioresponsive breath interactions for embodiment and weak representational
aesthetics for cardiac coherence, the framework aims to encode both streams within
a shared visual substrate, reducing the attentional task-switching and experiential
fragmentation that multi-channel displays otherwise risk. The system translates
lung volume into spatial expansion and contraction of the environment itself,
maps cardiac coherence onto affective visual dimensions (angularity, brightness,
saturation, symmetry), and embeds breathing guidance within the same geometric
substrate. We present the design rationale and implementation of this framework,
with empirical validation of its effectiveness to be conducted in future studies.
author:
- first_name: George
full_name: Fejer, George
last_name: Fejer
- first_name: Till
full_name: Holzapfel, Till
last_name: Holzapfel
- first_name: Taru
full_name: Hirvonen, Taru
last_name: Hirvonen
- first_name: Anestis-Pere
full_name: Lalidis Mateo, Anestis-Pere
id: '236796'
last_name: Lalidis Mateo
orcid: 0009-0002-9545-9043
orcid_put_code_url: https://api.orcid.org/v2.0/0009-0002-9545-9043/work/226875376
- first_name: Johannes
full_name: Blum, Johannes
last_name: Blum
- first_name: Michael
full_name: Gaebler, Michael
last_name: Gaebler
- first_name: Bigna
full_name: Lenggenhager, Bigna
last_name: Lenggenhager
citation:
alphadin: 'Fejer, George ; Holzapfel,
Till ; Hirvonen, Taru ; Lalidis Mateo, Anestis-Pere ; Blum,
Johannes ; Gaebler, Michael
; Lenggenhager, Bigna: Breathing
Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath and Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective State Representation
and Coherence Training in Viscereality. In: Association
for Computing Machinery (ACM) (Hrsg.): Proceedings of the 1st International
Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in the Alps. New York, NY, USA :
ACM, 2026, S. 79–86'
ama: 'Fejer G, Holzapfel T, Hirvonen T, et al. Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping
of Breath and Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and Coherence
Training in Viscereality. In: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), ed. Proceedings
of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in the Alps.
New York, NY, USA: ACM; 2026:79-86. doi:10.1145/3780045.3780061'
apa: 'Fejer, G., Holzapfel, T., Hirvonen, T., Lalidis Mateo, A.-P., Blum, J., Gaebler,
M., & Lenggenhager, B. (2026). Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath
and Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and Coherence Training
in Viscereality. In Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (Ed.), Proceedings
of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in the Alps
(pp. 79–86). New York, NY, USA: ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061'
bibtex: '@inproceedings{Fejer_Holzapfel_Hirvonen_Lalidis Mateo_Blum_Gaebler_Lenggenhager_2026,
place={New York, NY, USA}, title={Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath and
Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and Coherence Training
in Viscereality}, DOI={10.1145/3780045.3780061},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
in the Alps}, publisher={ACM}, author={Fejer, George and Holzapfel, Till and Hirvonen,
Taru and Lalidis Mateo, Anestis-Pere and Blum, Johannes and Gaebler, Michael and
Lenggenhager, Bigna}, editor={Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)Editor},
year={2026}, pages={79–86} }'
chicago: 'Fejer, George, Till Holzapfel, Taru Hirvonen, Anestis-Pere Lalidis Mateo,
Johannes Blum, Michael Gaebler, and Bigna Lenggenhager. “Breathing Space: Spatial
Mapping of Breath and Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and
Coherence Training in Viscereality.” In Proceedings of the 1st International
Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in the Alps, edited by Association
for Computing Machinery (ACM), 79–86. New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061.'
ieee: 'G. Fejer et al., “Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath and Cardiac
Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and Coherence Training in Viscereality,”
in Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
in the Alps, Ascona Switzerland, 2026, pp. 79–86.'
mla: 'Fejer, George, et al. “Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath and Cardiac
Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and Coherence Training in Viscereality.”
Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
in the Alps, edited by Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), ACM, 2026,
pp. 79–86, doi:10.1145/3780045.3780061.'
short: 'G. Fejer, T. Holzapfel, T. Hirvonen, A.-P. Lalidis Mateo, J. Blum, M. Gaebler,
B. Lenggenhager, in: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (Ed.), Proceedings
of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in the Alps,
ACM, New York, NY, USA, 2026, pp. 79–86.'
conference:
end_date: 2026-03-05
location: Ascona Switzerland
name: 'AlpCHI 2026: 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in
the Alps'
start_date: 2026-03-01
corporate_editor:
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
date_created: 2026-09-16T08:44:02Z
date_updated: 2026-09-16T09:58:10Z
department:
- _id: '102'
doi: 10.1145/3780045.3780061
file:
- access_level: open_access
content_type: application/pdf
creator: alalidismateo
date_created: 2026-09-16T08:24:45Z
date_updated: 2026-09-16T08:24:45Z
file_id: '7163'
file_name: 3780045.3780061.pdf
file_size: 5255806
relation: main_file
success: 1
file_date_updated: 2026-09-16T08:24:45Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
keyword:
- heart rate variability
- biofeedback
- virtual reality
- affective state modulation
- affective visualization
- coherence breathing
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
oa: '1'
page: 79-86
place: New York, NY, USA
project:
- _id: A827C0AA-C7DA-11E9-B0AE-1F4CB252D58D
name: Institute for Building Intelligence
publication: Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction
in the Alps
publication_identifier:
isbn:
- '9798400719486'
publication_status: published
publisher: ACM
quality_controlled: '1'
related_material:
record:
- id: '7164'
relation: other
status: public
status: public
title: 'Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath and Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective
State Representation and Coherence Training in Viscereality'
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: conference
urn: urn:nbn:de:hbz:bi10-71625
user_id: '220548'
year: '2026'
...