Inspiration
My inspiration for this project came from the countless hours I spent doomscrolling on Instagram and YouTube Shorts. It is unproductive, makes me stress more about classwork since I have less time, and is also really bad for my posture. Additionally, I am constantly reminded by the people around me that I really need to get out of my chair and go exercise more often.
What it does
A desktop application detects when your posture is bent over, looking at a phone. After a set amount of time, the program triggers a laptop lockdown and forces you to do jumping jacks. A hardware device is strapped to your waist, measuring the up-and-down movement as you jump to make sure that you are actually doing your jumping jacks; it also berates you as you are doing them. Only after you do a set amount of jumping jacks do the lockdown and berating stop.
How I built it
I used the Free-Wili internal accelerometer to count the number of jumping jacks by measuring the up-and-down movement of the body. I used the Battlenose expansion board to give the Free-Wili Bluetooth so that it can connect to my laptop wirelessly. I originally intended to have the device shock you for doomscrolling, since a harsh punishment would condition you to stop the bad behavior faster. Unfortunately, I do not have a taser (which I don't think TSA would allow in my carry-on) or a muscle stimulator, so I chose the second best option: having the device act like a military officer belittling you until you complete your jumping jack set.
Challenges I ran into
The main challenge I faced was getting the posture detection to work. Sometimes, a change I made to the code broke the camera detection, and I had to go back and forth to fix it. Another challenge I had was getting the UI/UX of the desktop application to look nice; I wanted it to look semi-professional and not like a science fair project. Often, making changes to the UI broke the functionality of the device and application, and I had to go back and fix it.
Accomplishments that I am proud of
I am proud of getting the Free-Wili to detect jumping jack motion and increment a counter. I am also proud of getting the Free-Wili to wirelessly connect with my laptop over Bluetooth by using the Battlenose expansion module.
What I learned
This is my first time making a wearable device. I found it really fun to see how it can be used to track a person's movement and how that data can be applied.
What's next for Focus Agent
I want to add a muscle stimulator, or better yet, a full-on taser to this device. That way, the moment you doomscroll, you will get tased. I also want to add more types of exercises as punishments, such as push-ups and running in place.
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.