My Projects
The Dream Catcher
Summary
A few years ago, a Neuropsychology researcher
approached me with a requirement to improve the collection of dream-related
information. The data collected was intended for use in treating
people who suffer the psychological after-effects of severe emotional
trauma.
As part of their treatment, subjects are asked
to maintain a pen and paper by their bedside. If they should awaken
from a dream, they are instructed to record what transpired during that dream
on to the paper.
The idea seems good, but practical considerations
make the flaws in this approach to data collection obvious. First,
there is only data to collect if someone should happen to awaken
during, or immediately after a dream. Then, the subject has
to exercise the self-discipline and the presence of mind to
turn on the lights, grab their paper and pen, and record something
useful. Data collected in this fashion is likely to be spotty at
best, and there are no provisions for date/time stamping of the
collected information.
The Dream Catcher project was conceived to
maximize the collection of useful dream data by actually synchronizing
data collection to dreaming, and then minimizing the need for the
patient's conscious cooperation. After pondering the requirements
and considering what was available to me by way of materials, I
arrived at the design that follows.
To use the Dream Catcher system, the subject
places the Dream Catcher instrument near their bed, perhaps on a
nightstand or on a chair. At bed time the subject must don a
specially modified lucid dreaming sleep mask, and connect the mask
to the Dream Catcher instrument via a lightweight cable.
"Lucid Dreaming" is the practice
of training oneself to become conscious of one's own dream state,
and to act in a conscious manner to control one's own dreams. This
type of training can be accomplished with a lucid dreaming mask,
a commercial product distributed by several companies. The mask
works by shining infra-red light through the eyelids of the sleeping
subject, and measuring the reflection of light from the eyeballs.
During dreaming, rapid eye movement occurs. This movement causes
fluctuations in the intensity of the reflected infra-red light. The
mask contains a timing circuit which delays action for a brief
interval, after which it flashes a visible red light in the
sleeper's face. The flashing visible light is usually integrated
into the sleeping person's dream as a stoplight or fire engine,
for example. With time, one can use this visual cue or symbol to "awaken"
within one's own dream, in order to manipulate and control it.
In the case of the Dream Catcher, the lucid
dreaming goggles were modified and are used merely as the detector of rapid eye movement.
A small computer sequencer, based on Parallax's Basic Stamp controls
the events that follow. First the instrument awakens the subject
with a verbal message. The message comforts the subject, reminds
him that he has been awakened from a dream, and that he should verbally
describe the dream. The Dream Catcher activates an internal tape
recorder which records the subjects comments as well as a verbal
date/time stamp generated by a speech synthesized clock. The system
then recycles and awaits the detection of the subject's next dream.
The Dream Catcher has a built-in omnidirectional
condenser microphone which is sensitive enough to pick up even whispered
speech at a considerable distance. It also features an RF remote
control, which allows the instrument to auto-trigger a lamp in the
room, or perhaps some other gentle wake-up signal like a fan. The
instrument is inherently safe, being completely battery powered,
and its enclosure features a lock to prevent tampering with the
equipment.
This is an image of the top of the instrument.
The speaker is a prominent feature, along with power and test switches,
a volume control, and connectors for accessories. This chassis slides
into a handsome, black, padded ballistic nylon case for easy carrying.
The next image is a view of some of the Dream
Catcher's internals. Visible is the tape recorder used to collect
the subject's comments, a digital memo device that delivers the
outgoing message, a speech synthesized clock that date and time
stamps the collected data, and various mode and test switches.
This is a view of more internals, but from
the other side of the cabinet. Evident are the fused battery packs
that drive the internal instrumentation. The circuit board at the
upper left is the computer board that controls all of the circuitry.
(revised
08/04/06)
(revised 04/29/09)
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