Picture of Sigh Collector
Sigh v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Sighed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Sighing}.]
1. To inhale a larger quantity of air than usual,
and immediately expel it; to make a deep single
audible respiration, especially as the result or
involuntary expression of fatigue, exhaustion,
grief, sorrow, or the like.
[1913 Webster]

These are instructions for building a home monitoring system that measures and 'collects' sighs. The result is a physical visualization of the amount of sighing, for personal use in a domestic environment.

The project is in two parts. The first part is a stationary unit, which inflates a large red air bladder upon receiving the appropriate signal. The second part is a mobile unit, worn by the user, which monitors breathing (via a chest strap) and communicates a signal to the stationary unit wirelessly when a sigh is detected.

1. You have a basic understanding of construction and fabrication techniques,
as well as access to the appropriate tools and facilities.
2. You have a working knowledge of physical computing (reading circuit diagrams)
3. You are overwhelmed with the anxiety of living in a failing state, and frustrated
that most of your household objects address only physical rather than emotional health.

Step 1: Material Needed

Picture of Material Needed
Here is an overview of the materials that will be needed.
Each individual page has more details and links on where you can purchase some of these materials.

Physical Materials:
> 1, 4x8 Sheet of Plywood. I used a piece of shop-grade maple ply.
> 2, 2x2 for the structural frame
> ~2 yards of red nylon strap fabric
> Some loose red fabric from a fabric store
> Latex tubing (Inner Diameter: 1/8", Outer: 1/4")
> Wood Screws ( 5/16, 3", 4" )
> 1 Rechargeable battery powered air pump (Coleman Rechargeable Quick-Pump)
> 1 unidirectional "Check Valve"
> A piece of a garden hose
> Liquid Latex & Red Pigment, or a large red balloon of some kind.

Electronics, Misc:
> 1, 20cm Stretch Sensor
> 1 red RCA cable, Male and female headers
> 1 10K Potentiometer with large sized knob
> 1 3-way toggle switch
> 2 Arduino Microcontrollers (Diecimille or newer)
> 2 9V battery clips with 5mm (center positive) male jacks.
> 2 xBee wireless modules
> 2 xBee shiels from LadyAda
> 1 FTDI cable for programming the xBees
> 1 LMC662, "rail-to-rail" OpAmp chip
> Misc Electronics components (see circuit diagrams for details).
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allenpeter2 months ago

Brilliant Use

n0ukf5 years ago
What do you do with all the collected sighs once they're collected? Someone should build something that uses them.
wakojako n0ukf3 years ago
I'd make a sigh powered pipe organ to cheer me up/relax me.
Hi, I am a Registered Respiratory Therapist. We were taught years ago that a normal, non-stressed sigh breath normally occurs two times per minute. That's the way we usually set our ventilators. You surely have some data on the number of sigh breaths per minute. If you will, please tell me how many sighs per minute on average you have measured in a "normal", "non-stressed" person. It would be very interesting to me. Thanks, Robb, RRT Grand Rapids, Michigan
I think that bladder needs to be yellow, with a big smiley on it... then when your emotional health is in the "blue", i.e. depressed... the big yellow smiley will be revealed and you'll smile :)
pingirl95 years ago
Finally!! A project that meets so many of my needs!! thanks so much for sharing it with us!!
ac7ss5 years ago
Looks like you could have placed it in a much smaller case, Cell phone sized even. At least on a belt clip. You can power the arduino from 3-4 AA batteries more cheaply than 2 9v (2400mah @$2 vs 1800mah @ $2-4) Interesting choice of biometric technology!
yoyology5 years ago
Does it measure in angst-stroms? I love this project so much it hurts. Also, reading through the Instructable made me acutely aware of my breathing and whether I was sighing or not. :-)
kd0afk6 years ago
yoyology kd0afk5 years ago
randomray5 years ago
LOL , I love the whole idea , what a sense of humor .
Very cool! I think my wife could keep a bounce house inflated with one of those.
This is very interesting, it reminds me a lot of the Nike video on youtube where they explain that the air in their Nike Air shoes is actually the air of their greatest athletes collected through a respirator type device. "The Secret Behind Nike Air" is the title of the video
Zerber45 years ago
Very interesting idea. I'd really like to hear from anyone who seriously decided to try this. Thanks.
Very nice!  I like the natural wood look u gave everything.  Was that a wood remote in the video?
1nstru6 years ago
a very nice piece of art! (i just boldly define it as art, see if i care if anyone protests) too bad you didn't really provide a lot of actual instructions. it is less an instructable or project documentation than a coarse project description. skipping the woodwork is fine with me, but the electronics deserve a better coverage. nontheless, a good idea and beautifully implemented.
1nstru6 years ago
you may want to correct the lower left picture comment: it says "extra amperage (but same current)."

amperage and current mean the same thing. when you put the two batteries in parallel you get a higher amperage/current at the same *voltage* than that of a single battery.
consequently, you get a higher voltage and the same current when putting the batteries in series.

batteries in series will
- will deliver the current that one battery can nominally deliver and
- the overall voltage will be the voltages of all batteries added up.

batteries in parallel will as a unit
- have the nominal battery voltage of a single battery and
- deliver a current which is the sum of all battery currents.

these are generalisations, take them with a grain of salt please. and never ever make a mashup of non-identical batteries, unless you know what you are doing and not only think that you know what you are doing....
mathman476 years ago
Please cut all the dead space from the end of the video and re-upload. Otherwise, a very interesting idea and project. Performance art!
....ok exactly what's the point of making a box that inflates a little every time you sigh. if there's something wrong with you and your emotions, you should have figured it out a while ago.
It doesn't seem to me that he is actually sad. I think this is just a great piece of art that is meant to be a visual representation of one's actions and or feelings...
excessive sighing is a sign that something is wrong, don't make it a regular habit and get it sorted out !
50mm6 years ago
what happens after it fills up?
it pops with the most massive explosion you've ever heard, causing you to have a heart-attack, and reconsider you sigh-inducing life style forever :P
Lolage that was one of the most funny comments I've heard
why thankyou :P
Tommyhzy Kazeem6 years ago
You're very welcome.
bmlbytes6 years ago
Not to be the negative one, but isnt the "carry around" box kinda big and heavy? You could just use a small project box and wear it on your belt or something. Then you could hide the strap under your shirt. Your circuit doesn't look that big, but you have a huge box for it.
Also to help make it smaller, use a mini jack instead of a RCA jack.
ReCreate6 years ago
Powered by 2 9V batteries, wired in parallel for extra amperage (but same current).
That kind of Contradicts itself,Amperage is current,The voltage will stay the Same but the current will be doubled,to about 1.6 Amps
mkontopo (author)  ReCreate6 years ago
Oops! I meant extra amps but same voltage. Thanks for catching that; will fix now.
You should Out Double the Current,Not amperage,Amperage is Said Mostly in High amperage/current things,like car batteries.
mdlmusic6 years ago
Great Instructable (although a trifle strange). I'm going to try and adapt some of the materials to make a set of bagpipes.
hg3416 years ago
so I tells you and others when your stressed in a artisly pleasing way well I don't see why I would want but I think it is cool concept and would like to see this add to other things and good work it look like it was running smoothly on the vid if you do any upgrades it would be cool to use a heart beat monitor and body temp gauge
Wow. Are you doin ok? That is a most meticulously constructed and beautifully depressing piece of art. Nice work on the video. It made me sad too. Best of luck. Very nice, clean understandable instructable. Sigh..... vroooom.
luvit6 years ago
i substituted the organic bladder for a tractor tire. it's a win.
Lftndbt6 years ago
jdtwelve126 years ago
This is... breathtaking. Does this piece include the concept of returning to some kind of equilibrium, or does the main unit just continue to expand until it meets or exceeds it's physical limits? (I recognize that this is perhaps a philosophical question as well as a technical one. I'm curious on both fronts.)
JakeTobak6 years ago
Completely useless, yet extremely awesome.
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