This decoder library is only for the SD card data. There was much concern on the blog by users who wanted to have access to their data without uploading it to the site, and this addresses that issue. Unfortunately this means that this particular piece of software will not give you real time access to your sleep stages. It simply gives you access to your overall sleep graph and other data available on the SD card at the end of the night.

I am unsure what information I'm allowed to say about the wireless transmission, but as I mentioned on the other thread I believe it is irrelevant since the import sleep stage processing is done on the base station, so the data you would get in transmission would not be nearly as useful.

For where to get it, we will post about that both in the blog and on here when it is available. We are currently putting it through some final testing and quality control before releasing it publicly.

At least for now your only option for lucid dreaming with Zeo is the hack I mentioned in another thread about connecting to the LCD lines. I can say I have successfully used that hack to sound alerts when I am in REM sleep with mixed results (no lucid dreams from it though...but I only used it once maybe twice).

I love the enthusiasm - and we are excited to be providing the tools for you to hack lucid dreaming (would love to integrate into Zeo ourselves some day - but its not currently at the top of the list).  Along those lines - we are opening up the platform bit by bit to allow this and other experimentation and integration.  So far, we have announced these two projects:

Web API - The Zeo API is a set of web services that allow third parties to develop applications that allow users full access to their individual sleep records.   Using the Zeo API, developers will have the ability to access nightly sleep data including ZQ scores, total sleep time, the number of times woken, and the amount of REM, light, and deep sleep.

http://developers.myzeo.com/web-api/

Status: This project is currently in alpha and we plan to open it up for public use later this year.

Data Decoder Library - Access most of the same data as the Web API - but directly from the SD Card.  This allows you to bypass the mySleep site and make applications that interface directly with Zeo sleep data.

Status: Also in alpha - We plan to have this up on the web for download and use by the public within a few weeks (although since it's alpha expect some bugs etc.)

But neither of these two interfaces will be your answer for lucid dreaming.  For lucid dreaming (and many other exciting projects) you will need real-time output from Zeo.  We are currently considering a Zeo Raw Data Library that would open up real-time data output from the serial port on the back of Zeo.  We would pump out brainwave data and sleep phase data in real-time.  I can't commit to a release date (or even say with 100% certainty that we will do this) - but we ARE working on it.  In fact Brian who replied to this thread is doing an internship with us at Zeo and helping build out these capabilities (he just completed the Data Decoder Library work).  Very exciting - if you can think of others who would benefit from such an interface we would love to hear from them on this forum - will give us extra reasons to move quickly :)

Of course if you just *cant* wait - Brian's hack posted to this forum will also work to get you real-time sleep phase from Zeo.

I also wanted to answer some of your technical questions:

- The headband transmits at 2.4GHz using our own protocol (ie. not Bluetooth/Zigbee/etc.) - you would need to wire up a Texas Instruments 2.4GHz chip and program to receive the data - there are easier ways (ie. the above)

- The headband transmits raw waveform - all of the processing that takes that raw signal and turns it into sleep phase data occurs on the bedside display.

As a result - the data from the bedside display is what you want for lucid dreaming experimentation.

Lucid dreaming really is an incredible experience that you must experience first hand to understand. I have found mine to be a cross between being very realistic and quite surreal.

I agree that there is a small, but solid, group of consumers who would be thrilled by a reliable lucid dreaming machine. I, like you and some others, see Zeo as a possible base for such an item. It should be kept in mind that Zeo's primary purpose is to help you get a good night's rest and to see what negatively affects your sleep.

I am currently working for Zeo on developing the firmware and software necessary to give users raw access to their sleep stages, brainwaves, and some relevant events. This data will have a much higher time resolution than the 5min shown on the LCD and be output in real-time as the data becomes available. The plan is to produce a library for users to use to create their own applications, including lucid dreaming ones. As Ben mentioned, there is no current set release date. I hope you can understand that we are all working hard to make Zeo the best it can be and this takes time.

The raw data output is our interpretation of the tools you would need to develop your own application. Intercepting the raw data sent from the headband would be difficult and wouldn't include much of the more interesting data (such as sleep stage) that is processed on the base. If you absolutely can't wait for real-time access you can attempt the LCD hack I mentioned in the other thread and I will help you as best I can.

Also, for you and any other user yearning for real-time raw data: It would be great if you could post in the developer forums about what exactly you would like to use the data for. This helps us understand what we should be aiming for. 

dream-enthusiast, I would in particular be interested in hearing what you would envision a good lucid-dreaming machine being capable of.

"If you absolutely can't wait for real-time access you can attempt the
LCD hack I mentioned in the other thread and I will help you as best I
can."

Can you point me at this thread? I searched the forum and came up empty.

Thanks!

I'm unsure why the search feature didn't turn it up, but here it is: http://blog.myzeo.com/forum/ot.....cd-access/. Welcome to the forums and feel free to ask any questions you may have and I'll try my best to help out.

First, let me say thanks to everyone involved in getting this forum created.  It's great to have a place to discuss the Zeo.  I have had mine for several months now, and the thought of using it for lucid dream induction has definitely crossed my mind.  I have tried unsuccessfully to have regular lucid dreams for many years now.  I know more diligence on my part in following the familiar training tecniques would help, but so far I have lacked the discipline.

 
Unfortunately, I realize the lucid dreaming community is small, so from a business standpoint, catering to this community will be difficult.  If any work is done to help out, however, I would probably look to use the data to initiate the traditional audio or visual cues used in other lucid dream induction products.  A simple check to determine a change in sleep state would suffice to begin cue initiation.  If possible, it would be nice to have a way to shut off data tranmission to the display and storage of the bedside unit if a serial connection was detected.  This would allow users to test lucid dreaming during naps, which aren't currently handled via the device.  With a Bluetooth wireless serial adapter, a phone could become the lucid dreaming "machine," leaving only software updates necessary for the Zeo unit.  I am a C# .NET developer, so a library that was easily usable in .NET would be nice to have, but it looks like your sample LCD access application is in Java, which would be nice for Android development.

I can certainly sympathize with not having the diligence to use traditional lucid dreaming techniques. It would be very nice to use Zeo to simplify the process greatly.

Please direct any questions regarding the LCD hack to it's initial thread. We are currently working on creating a library in Python combined with custom firmware that will make custom development based on sleep stages or brainwaves quite easy. In the mean time, there is my hack. My same LCD access is in Java, BUT I have actually implemented it in C# before… I'm unsure if I still have the code laying around (I can look if you like), but with the amount of info given between the sample code and the LCD spec document, it shouldn't be too hard to code from scratch for C#.

EDIT: Here we are: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/444669.....eoLink.zip  It is essentially a direct port of my Java code, as such there are still some potential bugs since I created it before I knew the exact LCD protocol outlined in the document I mention in the other thread. This should help get you started though.

Good luck and welcome to the forums.

Brian said:

This decoder library is only for the SD card data.

For where to get it, we will post about that both in the blog and on here when it is available. We are currently putting it through some final testing and quality control before releasing it publicly.

 

I eagerly await your announcement of the download location.

  --Mike

I'm glad to hear that, Mike. I know many users had the same hesitations and I'm glad we will soon be providing a solution.

Also, for those of you interested in getting realtime data, the library is approaching completion (though a lot of documentation remains). Here is a little snapshot of a GUI I created that shows all of the data that will be available:

The larger up and then down movement you can see in the waveform, is from me moving my eyes left and back to center.

I can't wait to get the decoder and this raw data library out to you guys!

I think Raw Data Output could allow me to plug the zeo into my computer and trigger a custom computer alarm such as some classical music or coldplay. Most computer alarm clock software has the same easywake (building volume) feature. I'm sure all that would need to be released in the future would be the serial to USB or line in adapter that could be used for anything. However, I'm not a fan of the Zeo's speakers compared to other options, but they certainly carry out their intended purpose.

Having raw data output would simply be fun. I suppose I could try wearing it while doing some studying to see what happens. Even htough I doubt this would work, maybe it would be worth mentioning that you could tell when you brain is working harder and see if you could train yourself to make it work harder? I don't know how easy it would be to see differences in the data that's outputted though.

Recording the data with something whether it be from zeo development or the user crowd would be great. But maybe that's what you're worried about.

Hi Evan (and everyone else who's commented on this thread),

I'm please to announce that an Alpha version of our Data Decoder Library is now available for non-commercial purposes; feel free to request a version of this software here!

For more about the development of this tool, as well as some of our plans for additional tools, check out Ben's recent blog post.

Thanks again for the feedback;  we look forward to hearing how you all use the DDL!

-Andi

Since nobody else has posted yet...

I've sucessfully downloaded everything, upgraded the firmware, and run the decoder.

No (obvious) problems here.

Of particular interest is the more detailed data available...

  --Mike

Been playing with the decoder - what is the difference b/w L and l (capital and lower case L's) in the "base_hypnogram"  N1 and N2?  Random?

There is, in fact, a logical difference. We flag certain periods of light sleep that are particularly deep so we can later change it to deep if it appears the person is merely a light sleeper. l is for light sleep, L is for light-to-deep sleep (also called Deep_2 in other parts of the decoder code).

Cool - thanks.  So there is some interpretation that happens b/w the base and the display, rather than a simple averaging.  Interesting, but it makes it more complicated than I was thinking for me to do my own "high resolution" analysis of my naps.  Hmmmm...

To anyone following this thread – good news!

The Raw Data Library has been release – see more here:

http://blog.myzeo.com/zeo-raw-.....your-mind/