Essays, research notes and reflections by Hannes Bend on Somatic AI, bioadaptive interfaces, physiological computing, art, perception, breath and human-centered technology.
An artwork-led essay on homes that respond to breath and pulse — permission in shared households, refusal without penalty, and why the archive is the real risk.
Read the full essayWhat camera-based rPPG actually estimates, what it cannot know, and why a pulse signal is not an emotion — with the current evidence on accuracy and demographic bias.
Read the full essayA founder’s case study of real-world bio-adaptive adoption: what the company-reported usage figures show, what they cannot show, and what changed in the product.
Read the full essayThe five layers of a bio-adaptive system — capture, signal conditioning, interpretation, adaptation policy, and consent and evaluation — and the specific way each one fails.
Read the full essayThe moral case for bio-personalized, bioadaptive technology: why screens should adapt to our physiology instead of exploiting attention, and how that could support wellbeing, agency and connection.
Read the full essayHow physiological and interaction data can personalize color, typography, visual complexity and notification timing — and what the research actually supports.
Read the full essayA clear comparison of Somatic AI, embodied AI, affective computing, physiological computing and bioadaptive interfaces — where they differ, where they overlap, and what each field is actually sensing.
Read the full essayTracing the arc from immersive art and neuroscience collaborations at the University of Oregon through VR biofeedback to patented adaptive interfaces and camera-based rPPG platforms.
Read the full essayArchival edition of the December 2022 personal essay: depression, mindfulness, breathing awareness, access and gratitude — Hannes Bend’s own experience, originally posted on World Mental Health Day 2022.
Read the full essayArchival edition of the June 2022 personal essay: being an empath is neither good nor bad, being a compass is a continuous action for good — on compassion, leadership, dark empathy, grief and enacted good will.
Read the full essayArchival edition of the January 2020 interview by Jordan Brandes and Kate Levchuk with Hannes Bend: adaptive interfaces, camera-based heart-rate detection, personalization, advertising ethics, breathing and the future of human-centered technology — with a 2026 note.
Read the full essayArchival edition of the 2019 essay on physiological computing: camera-based heart-rate detection, screens and stress, personalized interfaces, marketing, privacy and transparency — with a 2026 note on what has since been built.
Read the full essayField notes from the Sea Dragon on the St. Lawrence Seaway: freshwater research, microplastics, geological time, shipboard encounters and humor. Archival web edition of the 2013 Pangaea Exploration publication.
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