BreatheDot: A Portable Meditation Aid

I experimented with a few potential focus images, and the one that I liked best is this:

Each quadrant represents what to do and it is very soothing for the eye to go in a circle. Before this I also tried it being a line and a sine wave that bounced back and forth, but those did not really work out. However I have high hopes for this particular design, especially since the LEDs are a bit clearer about when to move through each stage.

Also added a keychain hole that was missing from earlier editions. However, this means that the BreatheDot 2 is larger ~ 32mm across.

I want to use Padauk, but I want to try out a new lighting scheme.

This is the initial test of using 3 LEDs. The issue with a single LED is that it is sometimes hard to sense the transition between states. With these three LEDs it should be much easier to follow along, but the question I have is that if it is intuitive, because with the Single LED, all you have to do is match the LED, but here you are actually counting the LEDs.

I'm also experimenting with different colors to represent different states.

Due to the global components shortage, I am forced to redesign the BreatheDot 2 with another device because my preferred ICs are either too expensive or simply out of stock.

Recently I have been interested in the Padauk ICs and have had a few successes in implementing them in my other projects. While they are not easy to source or program, the benefit is that they are really inexpensive, which helps to offset the other difficulties in my eyes.

I am planning to redesign the BreatheDot 2 to use the PFS173 from Padauk. It is a MTP part and is quite easy to solder.

Read the full post here: https://westsideelectronics.com/breathedot-2/

I finally came around to updating the original BreatheDot design. The interface was a little challenging to use and it didn't last very long.

Upgrading the Breathedot to use an STM32 really improved the quality of life for me as the designer and programmer, and it offers a better interface. Now the whole PCB can be used as a button, and it goes into sleep mode, allowing for the battery to last years on daily usage.

I finished and tested a new version of the BreatheDot that is the same form factor but now features a programmable APA102 2020 RGB LED. You can use Adafruit's Dotstar Library to program it.

I always wanted to do it because I really like RGB lights and I find the effect of fading from color to color to be quite mesmerizing. The photo is in the gallery, and the design files have been uploaded as v3.1. It uses a single CR2032 battery to run the LED and the ATTiny85. The Data Pin is PB1 and the Clock Pin is PB2.

I wrote up a list of instructions in order to program the Attiny. It is set up in such a way that reprogramming will be easy.

I have tested the instructions and they should work smoothly. This was done in a Linux system, but you can subsitute the commands for those of a Windows system if you are using it to program the ATTiny85.

I designed a new board that uses 2 CR2032 batteries and a WS2812b/Neopixel. I had my concern about how much the power draw will be, but I have been playing with it for over 3 days and it seems to work fine. I forgot to add a diode to drop the voltage to the ATTINY85 (safe levels are 5.5V), but there are no glitches.

There are programming headers now for easier reprogramming. However it is not compatible with a breadboard yet. I used one of my headless Digispark devices to program the Breathedot.

The nice thing about his new Breathedot (or BreathePixel?) is that the RGB colors are really pretty and the board provides more space to add other things like sensors or a IR receiver or light sensor.

Hello! This is quite an unexpected piece of good news. This project was chosen as one of the top twenty for the Hackaday Design Your Concept Entry! Thank you all for your support and comments.

Moving forward there are a few changes that I want to explore, adding a graphic for people who like the PCB as it is, and switching out the LED for a WS2812b or a Neopixel. This will test the battery life however, and it remains to be seen what the current draw will be. I have been able to successfully power 10 neopixels off 2 CR2032 batteries over an hour of usage, so this might be a promising avenue to look down.

Hello!

New boards are in, and they will be available on the Tindie page!

They are black, white and silver, as promised.

So I have had some interest in people wanting to buy boards/finished BreatheDots so I am currently making a few of them, they should be here within the next two weeks!

In honor of Hackaday, these boards will be in black, white and silver. A pretty classy combination I think. If you'd like one, just make a note on my Tindie page and I'll let you know as soon as they are done.