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This DIY Baby Monitor Uses Lasers and a Wiimote to Detect Your Child's Breathing

Aug 23, 2012 11:02 PM

Newborn covered in a colorful blanket with medical LEDs.

Proud new papa Gjoci wanted to make sure he never had to worry about whether or not his baby girl was breathing, so he built this amazing breath-detecting baby monitor using a Wii remote, a printed circuit, and a laser.

Red laser dots projected onto a bed covered with a blanket.

Image Credit blog.hu

First, he opened up the Wiimote and took out the camera, then used an Atmel Atmega88 microcontroller to make a printed circuit. Low-power infrared lasers shine on the baby's clothing and the Wii camera detects the motion of the baby's breath, activating an alarm if the motion stops or slows significantly.

For more details about the build, including code and schematics, visit Gjoci's blog.

Even if you don't plan on having kids anytime soon, there are plenty of other hacks you can try with a Wiimote. Build your own infrared smart board, create a desktop virtual reality display, or use it to control your Mac or PC.

What other applications can you come up with for this monitor?

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