BeagleBoard-xM project spotlight: Sleep Tight

By Natalie Nelms

Picture this: You’re lying in bed, exhausted from a long day of
work; your eyelids are heavy, but you’re devoted to finishing the
last page of your favorite novel. You conclude the last page, set
the book down on your nightstand, get in the perfect sleeping position
and then regrettably realize that your bedroom lamp is still on.
With a sigh, you get out of your cozy bed and turn off the light,
but not after aggressively stubbing your toe on your nightstand on
the way back to bed.

Now imagine avoiding this whole scenario by simply telling your
lamp or lights to turn off. With voice-controlled technology, Sleep
Tight can easily turn off your light from the comfort of your own bed.
Users will find themselves in sweet dreams immediately.

Electronic engineer, F.Can Akinci, hatched the idea after recognizing
the frustration of book-lovers at bedtime and the need for a convenient solution.

“Most people love to read in their beds at night to have a better
night’s sleep,” said Akinici, the embedded electronics enthusiast.
“When you finish reading and are ready to sleep, you have to leave
your warm bed and get up to reach the switch. Thanks
to the BeagleBoard-xM-powered Sleep Tight,
you won’t even need to move your hand to switch off the lamps.”

The project components include a microphone with a 3.5 mm jack,
DSP capabilities of BeagleBoard and a relay for switching lights.
The team opted for the Sitara-processor-based BeagleBoard-xM as the
direct board for the device as its DSP unit can handle the
voice recognition tasks.

Although now a graduate of Middle East Tech University, Akinici once
dreamed of playing professional basketball and came extremely close
joining the pros. Now, he uses that athleticism and competitive edge to create!
He is currently in the beginning stages of the Sleep Tight project,
but hopes to finish in the coming weeks. Once complete, he plans to
continue on to his next venture: creating a gesture-controlled system.

Check out F. Can Akinci’s blog for updates on the ongoing project
and to learn more feel free to contact him via Twitter: @wholelottajam.

Want to chat with us about this project? Tweet us at @BeagleBoardOrg!