A Virtual Companion For Meditation Applications

Stressful times, for instance, caused by a pandemic can lead to mental health problems. Studies show that mindfulness and meditation can be used to reduce them. An upcoming trend of meditation apps gives reason to improve the user experience by using modern technologies. This paper focuses on developing a virtual companion for meditation apps. We want to answer the question of how to design a virtual companion to better guide a user's journey in meditation by directing them to the right exercises and appropriate meditation techniques to suit their needs. The aim of this paper is to improve the user experience of meditation apps by building a virtual companion that will be a guide to users. Following the Design Science Research approach, interviews and an explorative app analysis were conducted. The method of the Virtual Companion Canvas was applied to prototype an instantiation of a virtual companion for meditation apps.