Do you ever find yourself breathing shallowly without realizing it, or experiencing physical ailments like headaches? We developed this device to support daily healthcare by making proper breathing a habit. "Abdominal breathing, " as recommended by the Japan Medical Association, allows you to take in more oxygen than chest breathing. Furthermore, **as advocated by Professor Negoro—a professor at both Harvard and Sorbonne Universities—**a breathing technique where you exhale for twice as long as you inhale (e.g., the 4-4-8 breathing method) is effective for a quick daytime reset and restoring concentration. This system supports practicing these proper breathing techniques regularly and continuously.
VideoIt was hard to show the breathing on camera, so in the second half, I grabbed and released the sensor by hand to show the temperature changes clearly.
2. Main Features- Real-time Visualization of Breathing: Outputs the acquired breathing data (temperature difference) in real-time as changes in the size of a green circle on the screen.
- Ideal Breathing Guide: The guide circle fluctuates based on the standard of good breathing, which is "exhaling for twice the time of inhaling" (e.g., inhaling for 4 seconds and exhaling for 8 seconds), prompting the user to breathe in sync with it.
- Automatic Calibration: The size of the green circle is relatively adjusted to match the maximum and minimum values of the user's breathing (exhaled breath temperature), displaying the correct breathing range.
- UI Improvements: Visually displays the correct pace and actual breathing simultaneously in real-time, allowing users to breathe while comparing the two. Visibility has been enhanced by adjusting the colors of the background and the circles.
- Combination of Components: Connect the diode respiration sensor to the GROVE terminal of the M5Stack, place the sensor near the mouth, and measure the breathing temperature. It compares the acquired temperature data with the target breathing pace, outputs it as UI changes on the M5Stack screen (inhale when the circle gets smaller, exhale when it gets larger), and evaluates the accuracy. To measure breathing correctly, start from a state where you have "completely exhaled all your breath."
- Poster (English Translation): This is the poster used at the on-campus exhibition.
Use this as a guide 10 to 20 times a day whenever you lose concentration or want to refresh.
- Straighten your back and bring the sensor close to your mouth (or nose) where your breath will easily reach it.
- Pull your stomach in and gently exhale all the air from your mouth.
- As the circle on the screen gets larger, inhale slowly through your nose for 4 seconds, focusing on expanding the area below your navel (lowering your diaphragm).
- As the circle gets smaller, slowly and completely exhale through your mouth for 8 seconds, taking twice as long as your inhale.
- Prerequisites: Please use it in an environment with an appropriate outside temperature, such as an air-conditioned room. The sensor has difficulty accurately determining the temperature difference in environments where the room temperature is close to body temperature (approx. 37°C / 98.6°F).
- Hardware & Software (Development Environment): Prepare an M5Stack Core, a Diode Respiration Sensor (for GROVE terminal - RESP02), and the Arduino IDE.
- Installation Steps
- Install the board manager for M5Stack and the necessary libraries in the Arduino IDE.
- Connect the diode respiration sensor to the GROVE port of the M5Stack.
- Open the program in the Arduino IDE and write it to the M5Stack.
- Turn on the M5Stack, wait about 5 seconds until the first value is output, and then start using it.
- Current Achievements: We improved visibility regarding the UI issue of the "green circle line being too small to see" by adjusting the background, circle color, and thickness. In addition, we succeeded in calibrating the actual breathing range (adjusting relative values), allowing the breathing state to be reflected more accurately on the screen.
- Future Challenges
- Sensor Characteristics and Limitations: While it is easy to detect the exhaling state, it is difficult to distinguish between the "inhaling state" and the "holding breath state" solely based on the temperature difference.
- Measurement of Ventilation Volume: Since the diode sensor measures temperature differences, it is unsuitable for accurately measuring the specific ventilation volume (the physical quantity of breathing depth).
- Environmental Dependency: The environment in which the device can be used is limited because the temperature difference becomes difficult to determine when the outside temperature approaches body temperature (approx. 37°C / 98.6°F).














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