Usability Evaluation of a Smart Textile-Based Cushion System for Ubiquitous Breathing Exercises

Smart textiles offer promising opportunities to address multiple aspects of relaxation-focused mental health interventions, which include monitoring and therapy. This paper presents a usability evaluation of a cushion-based smart textile system called Amiga, designed to guide users through breathing exercises that could be used in the future to support relaxation-focused interventions intended for independent use. A experimental user study with 20 participants was conducted to assess the system's effectiveness, user performance, user experience, and overall satisfaction using structured interviews and validated usability questionnaires. The system achieved a mean System Usability Scale (SUS) score of 81.875 with standard deviation (σ = 11.8), exceeding the established SUS benchmark of 68 and corresponding to the 'Excellent' category rating, under a predefined assistance-free criterion. The system was designed for respiratory phases (Ph) and respiration rate (RR) monitoring through a guided-breathing exercise where 90% completed with only 40% passing the quality criteria, achieving an average pace synchronization accuracy (PSA) of 61.2 % and phase duration accuracy (PDA) of 30% with a tolerance of ±1 s, thus providing a initial baseline for autonomous use and highlighting opportunities to improve on-boarding and in-application guidance. Most participants reported positive feedback regarding their confidence and overall satisfaction. Usability challenges were identified related to physical interaction with the cushion and clarity of on-screen instructions, providing clear directions for future design refinement. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of smart textile-based devices for home-based breathing exercises.