KipstR wristband knows when you've dozed off and starts recording shows
comments
After scoffing a huge roast dinner, tucking into a box of chocolates and finishing off a bottle of festive tipple, many of us are prone to falling asleep in front of the TV.
But that does mean we miss out on all the Christmas specials, films and end of the year quizzes.
With this in mind, a pair of teenagers has created a wearable band that knows when its wearer has dozed off.
It then pauses and records whatever was being watched so it can be viewed later on.
Scroll down for video
The KipstR band uses a pulse oximeter to establish when the wearer has fallen asleep, or wakes up again. The band then mimics a TiVo remote by pausing, recording or resuming the show that is currently being watched. Other people in the family can then change the channel without interfering with the recording
Called KipstR, the 3D-printed band was created by Manchester students Ryan Oliver, 15, and Jonathan Kingsley, 14, in partnership with Virgin Media as part of its Switched on Futures initiative.
The wearable tech features a pulse oximeter, and a wireless sensor which means it can 'talk' to a Virgin Media TiVo box.
Share this article
Pulse oximetry is used to measure oxygen levels, or saturation in the blood.
It is a non-invasive way of determining how much oxygen is being delivered to the part of the body where the sensor is placed.
When people fall asleep, this flow of blood changes and a pulse oximeter can use these changes to recognise when someone has dozed off - and equally, when they are awake again.
HOW DOES THE KIPSTR WORK?
The current KipstR prototype (pictured) features a spark core chip, pulse-oximeter, push button, sleep mode indicator and a small LiPo battery
KipstR measures a user's heart rate to detect sleep.
It then communicates with a Virgin Media TiVo box to pause and record the current programme being viewed.
When the user's heart rate rises to 'awake' levels it triggers Virgin Media's TiVo boxes to resume the programme.
The current KipstR prototype features a spark core chip, pulse-oximeter, push button, sleep mode indicator and a small LiPo battery.
The spark core chip at the heart of KipstR processes all the data from the pulse-oximeter, dictating when the band triggers TiVo to record, pause or re-play.
The outer casing of KipstR is 3D printed using an Objet Connex 3D Printer using a resin called Polyjet.
This resin is more robust than the rigid plastics used by most 3D printers.
Wearable technologies such as KipstR could also be used to monitor wearer's emotional reactions to their TV viewing, helping TiVo learn and tag programmes that evoke the strongest responses from the wearer.
Virgin Media will be trialling KipstR this Christmas with customers able to register interest in KipstR from this month.
It is also exploring how KipstR could sleep-control other connected devices in the home including powering up and down devices and controlling customers central heating, helping save time and money.
Once KipstR establishes the wearer has fallen asleep, the band mimics a TiVo remote to pause and record the show that is currently being watched. And if the person wakes up, the show will resume.
Additionally, once a show is being recorded, other people in the family can change the channel without interfering with this recording.
Mr Oliver, studying at Manchester Creative Studio said: 'We jumped at the chance to work with the Virgin Media team on this project, it was a brilliant challenge for us but we've learnt so much and are really pleased with the end result.'
The band features a pulse oximeter, and a wireless sensor which means it can 'talk' to a Virgin Media TiVo box. Pulse oximetry is used to measure oxygen levels, or saturation in the blood. It is a non-invasive way of determining how much oxygen is being delivered to parts of the body where the sensor (pictured) is placed
The 3D-printed KipstR band was created by Manchester Creative Studio students Jonathan Kingsley (pictured left), 14 and Ryan Oliver (pictured right), 15, in partnership with Virgin Media
Mr Kingsley added: 'It's given us a taster for what we would like to do when we leave school. We're excited to see what the next project will bring.'
Wearable technologies such as KipstR could also be used to monitor wearer's emotional reactions to their TV viewing, helping TiVo learn and tag programmes that evoke the strongest responses from the wearer.
The firm will be trialling KipstR this Christmas with customers able to register interest in KipstR from December 2014.
It is also exploring how KipstR could sleep-control other connected devices in the home including powering up and down devices and controlling customers central heating, helping save time and money.
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment