Touching Grass Timer

Timer Breadboard Configuration
Software Diagram showing thought process and visualization
Hardwarer and Power Schematic
Custom PCB Layout Overview

Inspiration

As a college student, I have to manage my time well to complete all of my work. One way I manage, is by setting a timer and working until the end of the timer. However, when I set it on my phone or computer, I get distracted because there are so many other things I want to do on those devices. Additionally, I don’t even see the timer buried under all of my other tabs.

While studying, I get stressed a lot too and sometimes just need to “touch grass” and breath! I’m taking an LPAP (1 credit hour physical activity class) right now called the Art of Relaxation where I learned about the 4-7-8 breathing technique, so I want to implement that meditative experience while maintaining productivity.

What it does

This project implements a hex display that acts as a countdown timer with customizable duration and brightness, an optional buzzer at the end of the timer, and a pulsing LED that guides the user to inhale 4 for seconds, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale for 8 seconds while the breathing button is pushed.

How I built it

This is actually a hardware embedded system so it was made on a breadboard lol, you can see the schematics on my hackster.io upload: https://www.hackster.io/me52/edes-301-touching-grass-timer-f0ae02#overview

Challenges I ran into

Using the beaglebone interface was difficult for me because I'm used to using Arduino. It also took FOREVER to connect the beaglebone to internet so I could uplaod to github