Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath and Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and Coherence Training in Viscereality

conference paper Breathing Space: Spatial Mapping of Breath and Cardiac Biofeedback for Affective State Representation and Coherence Training in Viscereality published yes George Fejer author Till Holzapfel author Taru Hirvonen author Anestis-Pere Lalidis Mateo author 2367960009-0002-9545-9043 Johannes Blum author Michael Gaebler author Bigna Lenggenhager author 102 department AlpCHI 2026: 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in the Alps Institute for Building Intelligence project 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. https://www.hsbi.de/publikationsserver/download/7162/7163/3780045.3780061.pdf application/pdfno ACM2026Ascona Switzerland eng heart rate variabilitybiofeedbackvirtual realityaffective state modulationaffective visualizationcoherence breathing Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction in the Alps 9798400719486urn:nbn:de:hbz:bi10-7162510.1145/3780045.3780061 79-86 https://www.hsbi.de/publikationsserver/record/7164 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. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061">https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061</a>. 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. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061">https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061</a> @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={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061">10.1145/3780045.3780061</a>}, 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} } 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:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061">10.1145/3780045.3780061</a> 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. 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 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. 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:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3780045.3780061">10.1145/3780045.3780061</a>. 71622026-09-16T08:44:02Z2026-09-16T09:58:10Z