Tinycorder

I have decided to enter the "Interactive Signage Contest" promoted by Seeed Studio. As part of that process I have uploaded a video that has been published on their channel, here is the link. The 14 videos with more likes go to a second phase in which a jury decides the best projects and there will be some prizes, the first one is a paid trip to the maker faire in Shenzen. The jury meets in the second half of August.

Tinycorder is a small, lightweight, low-power data capture device. It records temperature, humidity, CO2 and carries a basic 8-band spectrometer (7 colors + NIR). It also serves as an electronic badge, pomodoro timer, etc. I was inspired by the mythical Tricorder from the Star Trek franchise.

You have to participate before August 15, if you see the video and you like the project, it's as simple as giving it a like, thank you very much!

Tinycorder Version 2 (updated July 6, 2025)

The code is completed with the following changes:

• The timer function is completed, allowing you to set blocks from 5 to 120 min. In the 25min block, a "Pomodoro Timer!" message appears. When activated, it starts a countdown and, when finished, notifies with a flashing label on the screen.
• The Dashboard menu is completed, showing CO2, temp, and humidity measurements as a histogram, with measurements every 5 min up to a total of 24 for each variable. The time between samples can be changed in firmware to take a longer total sampling time.
• The "Air Quality" menu presents CO2, temperature, and humidity measurements every 5 seconds continuously, until you return to the main menu.
• The "Spectrometer" menu was already working but has been improved. Now it can display the spectrum as a histogram, lines, or numeric; you can switch between any of them or return to the main menu.
• The "About" menu has been improved in appearance and presents basic information.
• The oscilloscope function has been removed for now. It may be addressed in the future.
• All the text and menus in english
• The changes are update in github. Also uploaded the new .ino file here.

Pending changes:

• Add a small buzzer to give sound to the device.
• Add a time-of-flight sensor to measure distance and perhaps generate a kind of "sonar".
• Optimize power consumption by better managing deep sleep processes.
• Option to enable/disable LED for flashlight, using those on the spectrometer sensor.
• Battery voltage control to see autonomy on screen.
• Try other, more economical displays and redesign the hardware. The Sharp is very good but somewhat expensive.
• Create the PCB. It is currently a perfboard as it is a prototype.
• What else...?