ArduDreamer

[merkz]

I built this as I went so the layout is pretty messy =)

The user wears a headband that has electrodes placed at the temples.  The left and right eye movements are tracked.  The gain of the op amps in the electrooculogram circuit are controlled by the arduino through an AD5204 digital pot to allow for an automatic calibration routine.

You put on the headband and power up the board, and it outputs eye movement, unix timestamp and REM status to a computer for graphing.   It waits a set amount of time for you to fall asleep, and then monitors your eye movements to detect the REM stage of sleep (when you are dreaming).  When it detects REM, it blinks LEDs mounted in front of your eyes to give you a hint that you are dreaming to help you become lucid (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream).  When the REM ends, it can wake you up so you can remember the dream better.

Since your physical eye movements match your dream eye movements, movement sequences can be programmed so that you can interact with it while you are in a lucid dream (like turn the flashing LEDs off, or make notes in the log, i.e. I'm Lucid)

It also has a built in alarm clock that can wake you up at a set time in the morning.  

I got the idea from some experiments Stephen Laberge did at Stanford university

http://www.lucidity.com/slbbs/index.html

I had found a device called "RemDreamer" that could flash LEDs when you were in REM but it couldn't output a graph of exact eye movements and was pretty expensive so I decided to make my own.

It's working but I still need to make a PCB for it and integrate it into a sleep mask.


I was able to get all of the ICs except the atmega168 as free samples so the cost for this was about $15.

It uses an LM358, INA126P, 2x TLV2472, AD5204, DS1307, Atmega168 w/arduino bootloader and is powered via FTDI cable.




This is the eye movement output of a 3 hour afternoon nap:

I'm pretty happy that it all actually works and just wanted to share =)

[Ran Talbott]

I'm pretty happy that it all actually works

And proud,  too,  I hope:  that's extremely clever and slick.

[hwiguna]

WOW!
Thats a cool project!

Of course, we expect you to post your next update from your dream. ;-)

[merkz]

Thanks!  I found a company that was kind enough to send me a couple samples of some really nice electrodes to use with this so hopefully that will clean up the signal a bit.  

[KenH]

First I've heard of that!  I read both articles and am amazed... but I do think I remember having Lucid dreams myself....  

Thank you for posting and I will follow this thread more.

Ken H>

[doublet]

That's pretty amazing!
I'm a lucid dreamer too (I'm active as 'Doublet' on the dutch LD4all)!

I'll make me one too  

[keeper63@cox.net]

Nice job!

I've always wanted to pursue something like this, but never found the time. Something that I wondered was whether by using a computer, headphones, and lights over the eyes - if the computer could somehow control or feed suggestions to the dreamer; in some manner using a computer to alter the dream-world thru suggestion in some manner (ie, lucid-dream virtual reality). Feedback from the REM movements would be necessary and needed, but you already have that...

What has always annoyed me most when lucid dreaming (the rare occasion it does occur to me; I rarely can remember on my own, so it is happenstance) is how easy it is to fall out of lucidity - if there were some way to both a) induce/remind the user for lucidity (which this machine can probably help) and b) keep the user in lucidity - dreaming would be a much more interesting (and potentially useful) experience...

Keep us updated on your progress, ok?

[programmer]

Well done!

Really interesting project, and something I really want to do myself at some point. I bought some of the bits needed but haven't had the time to work on it, and they've been sitting gathering dust for months.

I`d love to see a more detailed write up if you're happy to do one & share at some point  

[Tchnclfl]

Man, I'd love to see how you monitor eye movements, tell when the user is asleep, etc.  I always thought you had to use EMF detectors (which are usually pricey) to tell when the user is asleep, etc.

Looks almost as cool as Zeo!

[Ran Talbott]

Looks almost as cool as Zeo!

I dunno if I want to use a subliminal coaching machine purchased from a site that set at least NINE cookies before showing the home page (It may have wanted to do more,  but I clicked "Deny" when Firefox asked permission for the ninth).

"When you wake up,  you will feel refreshed and confident,  and have an irresistible urge to order a Zeo for each of your immediate family members..."

[KnMn]

This is definately one of the coolest projects I've seen on this board so far.

I spent months constantly counting my fingers and checking clocks and lightswitches while I was awake, but never managed to have (or remember having) a lucid dream. It's on my "to-do" list for life.

Good job

[doublet]

Where did you get the IC's? Can you also post the schematics?

[merkz]

I got the ICs from Texas Instruments (INA126P & TLV2472), Analog Devices (AD5204), and Maxim (DS1307).  The passive components and atmega168 I got from digikey.   If you want to try building one I would recommend the atmega328 instead, digi was just out of them when I ordered stuff.

The only schematic I have right now is from when I was figuring out the EOG circuit in pspice:



Some things I changed since that schematic: I just power it from FTDI now so I got rid of the 9V battery and 7805.    I took out the TLV2472 from the virtual ground circuit and replaced it with an LM358.   I reused the TLV2472 to cascade two more 40Hz low pass filters before the final amplification.   I replaced the 280ohm resistor in the instrumentation amplifier with a channel on the AD5204.  I replaced the 270K resistor on the final amp circuit with a 150K, and I replaced the 10K resistor on the final amp circuit with another channel on the AD5204.  

The rest of it I just made as I went on the breadboard so I dont have any schematics right now, but Im going to build a PCB for this and I can post the full schematic after I get it in to eagle

[doublet]

If you would make a shield or PCB, I'm VERY interested in buying one.

[merkz]

Cool.  I'm waiting on a couple different types of sleep masks and the reusable electrodes to come in.  The adhesive ones I've been using leave nasty red marks next to my eyes after wearing them so my GF has kindly asked my to stop using them =)