CalmSpace

Prototype
Methodology
Architecture Diagram
Results

Inspiration

Autism, also called autism spectrum disorder comprises a variety of conditions correlated to brain development. When I went to my friend’s place last summer, I saw his autistic brother. I literally was witnessing an autistic meltdown during the time I went. I saw that their parents were so tense and were trying out different things to calm the autistic kid. Their parents were not even able to think rationally. This event inspired me to investigate further to find a potential solution for tackling the autistic meltdown. I dug further to understand autism, and the numbers surprised me. According to WHO, one in 100 children has autism spectrum disorder globally. Specifically, in the U.S., the number is still worse, with one in 44 children having autism according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This prompted me further to do more research and helped me design a solution to tackle an autistic meltdown.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a developmental disorder that affects communication and behavior, whose symptoms generally appear in the first two years of life. Due to its wide variation in types and symptoms, it is considered a spectrum disorder. For any person, the two greatest fears are losing self-control and the fear of the unknown. Unfortunately, for autistic persons, the fear of the unknown can trigger a loss of control, causing an uncontrolled meltdown. An autistic meltdown is immense, very emotional, enduring, and more difficult to manage than the average tantrum. An autistic meltdown cannot be compared to a temper tantrum. A temper tantrum can be categorized as naughty behavior. However, a meltdown is an expression of an overwhelming condition, after losing control of oneself. Meltdown can lead to extreme, sometimes aggressive, and repetitive behaviors such as shouting and self-harm. Meltdowns are often very distressing for both the autistic person and the parents/caregivers who take care of them.

Every autistic person is different their abilities and needs are unique to themselves. Some autistic persons can live independently, some may have to rely on support for a longer time. An autistic meltdown is an emotional and intense response to an overwhelming situation where autistic patients lose control of themselves. Such a meltdown can be verbal or physical or both. Hence the parents and caregivers need all the help they can get to tackle meltdown situations. My solution can help parents and caregivers tackle the autistic meltdown. Specifically, my solution can relieve the parents/caregivers of any tasks that they need to do during the meltdown using an automated approach. This would help them reduce their anxiety, as not only the autistic kids but also the parents/caregivers lose control due to anxiety during the meltdown.

What it does

CalmSpace is an innovative device that can act as a helpful companion to handle autistic meltdowns for parents and caregivers. Using this device, parents and caregivers can configure a set of gadgets to establish a sensory room. During the meltdown, the configured gadgets would get automatically switched ON to help tackle the meltdown situation. A sensory room setup can provide peace, solace, and focus for autistic kids. Autistic kids may be very sensitive to harsh lighting, and loud music. Hence a sensory room can help calm down autistic kids during their meltdowns. Autistic meltdowns are surprisingly predictable with continuous screaming and shouting. CalmSpace will rely on a configurable sound threshold to detect meltdown. Once the noise level threshold is reached and detected by an electret microphone, which can send a digital signal to the Raspberry Pi when the threshold is reached. The Raspberry Pi, in turn, can work with smart plugs to switch ON or OFF the pre-configured switches within the mobile application that will be made available for the users.

There are calm-down devices such as lava lamps, bubble lamps, and white noise generators, but they all need to be manually switched ON during a meltdown. I found a patent for a device that can stimulate environmental factors before the meltdown by monitoring physiological conditions. But this can be a cumbersome device for autistic kids to wear all the time. I also found another patent for a device that can track the meltdown through the thresholds but with no option to tackle the meltdown. We also have devices like Alexa that can trigger switches but it lags behind email tracking and also a customizable threshold. Hence my product is unique, economically viable, with configurable thresholds, and with provision to track the meltdown trend. And what's more, such a recorded trend pattern can further help scientific research too.

How I built it

First, I set up a sensory room with multiple WeMo smart plugs such as bubble lamps, scents, calming lights, etc. that are needed to calm down autistic persons. Then, I built a CalmSpace Mobile application that loads a website hosted within the Raspberry Pi in the local Wi-Fi network. The mobile website can be used to get the user configuration. All WeMo smart plugs in the sensory room are to be configured in the CalmSpace mobile application by the end-users with the corresponding IP address and device name. Additionally, on the same mobile application, users can also optionally configure a reset timer to reset the sensory room appliances after a pre-defined time.

The core functionality of the device depends on the sound sensor KY-038. The sensor KY-038 is an electret microphone that is made of a diaphragm, a transistor, and a pair of electrodes. The diaphragm responds to the sound waves because of a change in air pressure which in turn causes a change in capacitance between it and the charged metal plate. The capacitance that varies, in turn, produces a modulating voltage, which is then amplified and then digitized using an amplifier and comparator.

Challenges I ran into

The major functional dependency of the product is the sound sensor. Hence, the risk is high if the sound sensor is not able to detect the sound effectively. Mitigation: I have chosen a sound sensor based on user reviews. So far, the device I have chosen has got the best reviews for picking up sound effectively and is economically viable.

Another key risk is the continuous availability of a Wi-Fi network, as both WeMo plugs and Raspberry Pi should be connected to local Wi-Fi all the time. Mitigation: WeMo devices are proven to work well with Wi-Fi and there’s an official support page from Belkin to debug WeMo connectivity issues. If the WeMo plugs are connected to the local Wi-Fi, the same troubleshooting tips can be used to connect the Raspberry Pi also to the local Wi-Fi.

Initially, I had some challenges when the sensory room is activated even for any fallen object. Hence, I updated the logic to trigger the sensory room only if there are five continuous instances of threshold crossing.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

CalmSpace is going to be very helpful to parents and caregivers to take care of autistic meltdowns. With this device, they can plan ahead to set up a sensory room that can automatically trigger relevant gadgets. Every autistic person needs different strategies to calm down. Calm-down strategies may include pleasant music, repetitive white noise, bubble lamps, dark rooms, green lights, marquee lights, etc. CalmSpace can be configured to work with any of these devices. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy on how to handle meltdowns as every kid is not the same. A strategy that works for one may or may not work for another. CalmSpace can support any device that can be connected to a smart plug. Hence it opens up a wide variety of sensory room gadgets depending on the past behavioral pattern of autistic kids. Autistic patients are hypersensitive to their emotions wherein their minds, body, and soul are flooded to the breaking point, which leads to a destabilizing state of meltdown. Hence, CalmSpace can be a very helpful companion for parents and caregivers in setting up a sensory room in the house to help tackle such meltdowns.

What I learned

I learned how to effectively utilize minicomputers, microcontrollers, and sensors, specifically the Raspberry Pi, Arduino Uno, and the WeMo smart plugs By connecting the same to Wi-Fi, I was able to create more opportunities to build more projects for my personal enrichment and for benefitting the community. Additionally, I deepened my electrical and software skills through the prototyping of CalmSpace. Since this product has many business capabilities, I was able to formulate business plans and continue my future improvements to make this a commercially successful product in the future.

What's next for CalmSpace

◉ Support a few different smart plugs. ◉ Switching OFF gadgets during a meltdown, as some situations may need switching off heaters due to their sound. ◉ Investigate expansion to an "emotional sensor" that is able to use facial/emotional recognition Machine Learning models to activate CalmSpace.