Updated 1 Feb 2014
What is the most personal gift you can give to your significant other? It’s your heart, right? Our heart rate bracelet now makes it possible to literally give your heart to someone you love, no matter how far you are apart. It is a simple device that measures your heartbeat and sends it through the internet to a light-emitting bracelet that starts beating in the same pulse as your own heart.
Hardware:
How it works
A regular heart rate belt is worn around the chest. It detects the heartbeats and sends it wirelessly to the Polar RMCM-01 receiver module. On every heartbeat, the module outputs a short pulse to the Monitor Imp. The Monitor Imp device code measures the time between the pulses and on every pulse it sends the interval to the Monitor agent. The Monitor agent code then calculates the beats per minute and sends it to Firebase, which subsequently forwards the heart rate to the Bracelet Imp. In the Bracelet agent code the heart rate is sent to the Bracelet device code, which pulses a digital output to the bracelet at the right interval. The bracelet was hacked to be able to respond to pulses from the Bracelet Imp.
How the idea was born
Jasper Sikken and Greg Soltis developed this device during the Electric Imp hackathon in San Francisco on December 7, 2013. At this hackaton, Firebase handed out bracelets that flash when being vibrated. Additionally, Jasper had brought his own Polar heart rate belt and receiver module. This combination led to the idea to connect the heart rate belt to the bracelet through the internet. This way, users can give their heartbeat to their loved ones, giving the product a very personal edge.
The Electric Imp code: