Week Two Iteration - Hasan Berk

 Big Heart SETU 

02/02/2024

Week Two Iteration

This week's iteration consisted of familiarizing ourselves with the Micro:bit, and experimenting with using the MakeCode website. I last used a Micro:bit during Leaving Cert Computer Science, where I designed a fan that would come on if the temperature in the room got too hot, or a message would display if the room got too cold - in a sense, it was bio-feedback for people who can't feel temperature.

Bio-feedback is a very interesting area we have been researching, and we're trying to find the optimal way to show users how "good" breathing can positively impact your HRV. 


Micro:bit Work Done:

We were given the following bit of kit:
  • Micro:bit V2
  • Expansion Breadboard with a RCR123A 3.5V Battery
  • Heart Pulse Sensor
The following repository had some Micro:bit code we used to test out functionality of our kit. Although our kit was a slightly different setup, we got it working as a proof of concept by tweaking some of the values- https://github.com/JanTadeuszEkiel/homelab


Here is what our heart rate graph showed in the Micro:bit data.


And here is the jackpot - HRV going up and down with my breathing:



Now it is time to look at the bio-feedback and how we can actually communicate this information back in a more meaningful way.

Bio-Feedback

One idea that I had was maybe a ping pong ball with a fan below it - similar to my Leaving Cert project. If we could adjust the air flow so on inhale it goes up - hold it in a static position when optimal inhalation time is achieved - and then lower the ball with the fan speed going down. If we could attach a LED into the ping pong ball - so it turns green when your HRV reaches an optimal range, I think this would be very interesting. This way we can show how pacing your breath can positively impact HRV. The only issue I have is any light within the ping pong ball may displace the weight unevenly or even be too heavy for a fan.




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