Jose M. Aponte Urmeneta, a student at the University of Twente in the Netherlands, published a thesis on “Designing a sleep monitoring device to induce lucid dreaming.” The project was based on the research of one of the founders of the lucid dreaming method, Stephen LaBerge. The author used flashing lights as an external signal, a technique that has been proven effective.
The device looks like a sleep mask with a software module, an optocoupler (an infrared LED array), and a phototransistor for detecting eye movement during sleep. The LEDs start flashing when REM is detected, indicating a dream.
Analyzing the pros and cons of existing technologies, Jose Urmeneta is looking for ways to improve on the first version of the device. For example, research is currently underway on the effect of the color of light in a dream tracker, as well as on the ideal combination of flashing or continuous colored light. The author hopes that the algorithm’s optimization will ultimately lead to the creation of a completely autonomous product for inducing lucid dreams.
Although for a third of a century such devices have not met expectations in practice, hope remains that this problem will eventually be solved. Have you ever used similar masks? Did it work for you?
The research was published in June 2020.
