SLEEP-4

www.morfey.ru

«SLEEP-4»

Let's start with the SLEEP-4 device. This is the simplest device that does not have an eye movement sensor. A sensor is necessary to determine the desired phase of sleep, upon the occurrence of which you can enter a lucid dream, the so-called phase of rapid eye movements (REM).

How does it work without a sensor, because it can’t know when to give out tips?
The user is invited to independently decide how long he has the phase of rapid eye movements, the phase of deep sleep, and after what time, from the moment the device is started, they begin. The instructions say that by the method of multiple selection of time delays in the device, you can make sure that prompts will still be issued at the right time.

I’ll add on my own that it would be very good if the periods of the phases of your sleep every night when you sleep would be the same and would come at the same time from the start of such a device. Today, for example, I fell asleep after 15 minutes, yesterday - after 5 minutes, and tomorrow, perhaps, I will fall asleep in 1 hour. And what to do?

Yes, if I still think what to do with the device, then I risk not falling asleep until dawn in general. By the way, the duration of sleep phases, depending on the general fatigue and emotional stress during the past day, can be different in duration.

SLEEP-5

www.morfey.ru

«SLEEP-5»

Another device manufactured by the same manufacturer from the city of Smolensk is SLEEP-5. An eye movement sensor is installed in it, and at first glance everything seems to fall into place, that is, the device can give prompts precisely in the necessary phases of sleep, and not when it is necessary, as the SLEEP-4 device does.

However, the device has many small flaws and one, it seems to me, is rather large - the main unit of the device is connected by wires to a mask worn on the face.

By the way, the SLEEP-4 device is designed in the same way. During sleep, it costs nothing to get entangled in these wires and cut them off. After reading the instructions, it creates a lasting impression that the developers of the device constantly cared only about how easier it is to write a program, and not at all about the quality of the device, and not about user convenience.

Here is just one example: you won’t be able to find out what time the SLEEP-5 worked at night, but how can you find out how many times it worked? We read the quote from the SON-5 device instructions: "To determine the number of passed prompts, you must enable the delay input mode with the" Test "button and add the numbers corresponding to the lit LEDs. The number of passed prompts will be equal to the sum found."

And so in all the settings - you constantly need to calculate and add something in your mind to get the desired number. Convenience, as they say, leaves much to be desired. The maximum sleep timer is only 2 hours, despite the fact that it is usually recommended to sleep at least 3-4 hours before entering a lucid dream.

Other shortcomings - perhaps they will not seem small to anyone - can be seen in the comparative table below.

Rem-Dreamer

www.Rem-Dreamer.com

«Rem-Dreamer»

The Rem-Dreamer device of Polish origin - came closest to the correct understanding of what a person needs for normal sleep with the device.

He does not have an external unit, and therefore there are no wires in which you can get confused during sleep. The electronic board of the device is embedded in a mask of black light-absorbing material, worn on the face. Does he have any flaws?

If in the SLEEP-5 device the difficulties started when installing or checking the settings, then in this device they begin ... by turning on the device.

Here is a quote from his instructions: “If you have already inserted the batteries, turn on the device. To do this, turn all the switches on (1234) and press the button on the front panel of the electronic board once. A short long beep will indicate that the appliance is on.

переключатели управления Rem-Dreamer

If instead of a sound you see how the LEDs light up and after some time go out, then this means that the device has turned off ..... press the button again to hear the sound. ”

Now let's try to find out how many times per night Rem-Dreamer worked. Here is another quote from the instructions for the Rem-Dreamer device: “In the position of the 1234 switches, press the button and the device will tell you how many times it gave you signals in response to your quick eye movements in a dream. Short beeps will tell you about hundreds .... flashing left LED - about dozens ..... right - about units.

For example, if after pressing the button in position 1234 you hear a single beep, you will see that the left LED blinks 4 times, and the right - three times. This will mean that the device gave you in a dream 143 series of signals per night. Only 4 flashes of the left LED and five of the right will indicate 45 series of signals per night.

Only three flashes of the right LED - only about three series of signals. Everything would be nice, but this device is clearly intended for puzzle lovers with well-developed memory. It is also impossible to see the response times at night on this device, unfortunately, but according to these data, the real phases of sleep would be very clearly visible, the periods of which are so necessary to know to use the SLEEP-4 device.

NovaDreamer

http://www.lucidity.com/novadreamer.html

«NovaDreamer»

NovaDreamer is very similar to RemDreamer, only four slide switches in it are replaced with a rotary dial that switches modes.

Let's try again to find out how many times the device has been triggered per night. We read the instructions from NovaDreamer:

“Counting the clues. When the switch is set to the number 9, NovaDreamer shows how many prompts he made during the last session he worked with him (which begins five minutes after the sleep mode is turned on and ends when the switch is set to position 0 (off)).

The number of prompts is shown as a sequence of light and sound signals. First there are relatively long light signals on the left, then relatively short on the right. The first shows the number of tens, the second - units of clues. For example, one flash on the left followed by 9 flashes on the right means 19 hints (10 + 9). Six flashes on the left and one on the right mean 61 hints (6 * 10 + 1). The absence of flashes on the left means that less than 10 hints have been made. The absence of flashes on the right and their presence on the left shows that the number of prompts made is a multiple of 10 (10, 20, 100, etc.). The absence of flashes on both sides means that there were no clues. ”

It is very sad to look at this creation, the developers of the Institute of Lucid Dreams could not make the device with the most common display familiar to all, where you could see statistical information and easily change the settings. They themselves seem to feel this, and therefore decided to somehow correct the situation by releasing the SuperNova prefix, which allows you to connect NovaDreamer to a computer to view and change settings.

It is interesting that this set-top box is connected only through the COM port, which is absent on all modern computers, and requires a mandatory connection to the electric network. Such a solution, in my opinion, is very inconvenient and quite expensive for users, because to view some settings before going to bed, you have to turn on the computer, not to mention the money spent on the purchase of this set-top box.

In fact, in this case you will not even pay the money for the console itself, but for the inability of the developers to equip the device with a display.

The secret of all these difficulties is that writing a program for a computer is much simpler compared to a program for any microcontroller used in such devices, and therefore we see all these designs that make us count flashes, add and multiply something, very much like home-made from a circle of pioneers of Soviet times.

DreamStalker

«DreamStalker»

When I read the information on the site page dedicated to the SLEEP-5 instrument, which says that it “was created on the basis of combining work experience and research from various scientific and amateur groups”, I always think that the mistakes and imperfections of other developers should serve by no means not as a model for repetition, but as a reminder that this is not necessary.

DreamStalker adopted from Rem-Dreamer’a an excellent solution for placing the electronic board in the mask itself, worn on the face.

the location of the board in DreamStalker

At the same time, all the disadvantages that prevented people using this device were eliminated.

What has been done?

- Added real-time clock, allowing you to remember the time of each operation of the device during the night.

- A display has been added for a normal and clear display of all instrument settings and statistical information. Now nothing needs to be counted and added. Just go to the menu item "Counter of Triggering" and see how many operations were in a night. In the same way, in the menu item “Clock of Triggering” you can see the exact time of each operation.

- Added other useful modes that improve the consumer characteristics of the device. The DreamStalker eye movement sensor is built using state-of-the-art SMD (Surface Mounted Device) components, which greatly improve its characteristics and especially its appearance, which were also criticized by buyers of Rem-Dreamer.

At the same time, the retail price for the new DreamStalker was set lower than for Rem-Dreamer, after which the sales of Rem-Dreamer in Russia ceased for obvious reasons.

DreamStalker PRO

the board of DreamStalker PRO

The latest development, which was completed after 1 year of successful sales of the DreamStalker with positive user feedback.

DreamStalker PRO included all the features of the DreamStalker device and received many new, exclusive functions that are not found in any of these devices.

Basically, all the added features were offered by DreamStalker buyers.

Here are these new features:

1. a vibrator integrated directly into the mask for tactile prompts;
2. play voice messages before and after prompts;
3. playback of dream script files (it is possible to record all the necessary messages on the device itself through the built-in microphone or copy the finished files from the computer);
4. playing music files to relax and improve falling asleep;
5. automatic voice recorder for recording dreams;
6. regular voice recorder for recording any messages at any time;
7. voice instructions to simplify the use of the device without removing the mask;
8. implemented complete suppression of clicks at the beginning and at the end of file playback (even if they are in the file itself);
9. smooth digital control of file playback volume has been applied, starting from the very minimum, at which reproduced sounds are barely audible;
10. standard MP3 (CD quality) and WAV formats were used as playback files;
11. files are stored on a microSD memory card removed from the slot (up to 2GB);
12. easy exchange of files with a computer is provided, a standard Jack 3.5 mm for connecting headphones is added (restful sleep for those around you and excellent quality of listening to MP3 stereo files);
13. automatic self-testing of the system is used when the power is turned on with a check of the battery level;
14. the device has retained the same dimensions as DreamStalker had, and still dispenses with an external unit, completely housed in a mask of black light-absorbing material, which allows you to use the device even in the summer after dawn outside the window.

Comparison table of instrument features

Functions	DreamStalker PRO	DreamStalker	RemDreamer	NovaDreamer	SLEEP-5	SLEEP-4
Compact size, the device fits in a mask	+	+	+	+	-	-
Stereo headphone jack	+	-	-	-	-	-
Eye movement sensor	+	+	+	+	+	-
Real time clock	+	+	-	-	-	-
Remembering the response time, control of phases of sleep	+	+	-	-	-	-
Exposure of the timer for falling asleep	10 min- 24 hour	10 min- 24 hour	Not defined	Not defined	8 min - 2 hour	up to 20 min
Display for information display	+	+	-	-	-	-
View and change all settings through a menu similar to a cell phone’s menu	+	+	-	-	-	-
DUPLEX mode - control the device in a dream by moving the gaze	+	+	+	-	-	-
The range of changes in the threshold level of activity of eye movement, the accuracy of the setting	1 - 20	1 -20	1 - 20	1 - 6	2 - 3	-
Number of standard wake-up settings	6	6	6	3	1	1
Training mode for gaze control in DUPLEX mode	+	+	-	-	-	-
Vibration for the prompts	+	-	-	-	-	+
Combining vibration with other types of prompts	+	-	-	-	-	-
Remembering all the settings made when removing the batteries	+	+	-	-	-	-
The number of AAA batteries to power the device	2	2	2	2	4	4
Play individual message files before and after prompts	+	-	-	-	-	-
Playing dream script files during the start of a lucid dream	+	-	-	-	-	-
Recording your message files and sleep scripts through the device’s built-in microphone	+	-	-	-	-	-
Play music files for relaxation while falling asleep with auto-off	+	-	-	-	-	-
Automatic recording of dreams on the voice recorder	+	-	-	-	-	-
Voice recorder for recording any messages	+	-	-	-	-	-
File sharing with a computer	+	-	-	-	-	-
Voice instructions that allow you to use the device without removing the mask	+	-	-	-	-	-
Automatic system testing with message output at power up	+	-	-	-	-	-

The author of the article:
Alexander Protopopov

razrabotka.pro – electronics development