Would anyone be interested in a £5 ($8) heart rate sensor?

Would anyone be interested in a £5 ($8) heart rate sensor?


  • Total voters
    3

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
Hello Everyone,

I have a prototype of a light based heart rate sensor board that works on many types of skin colour, and can detect heart rate almost anywhere on your body. I am considering buying the parts in bulk so i can get the price really low, so if enough people are interested i can probably get them for £5/$8. Would anyone be interested in buying one if i go ahead?

The board will be very tiny, possibly as small as 10mm (1cm/0.39inches) by 10mm.

James
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
What would the human interface look like? How do we see the rate?
The sensor is a Photoplethysmogram based heart rate sensor which measures the amount of light absorbed by the skin. This changes as your heart pumps blood around your body, so the value coming from the sensor will be the raw light level. I will be releasing an example Processing sketch to graph the signal to make it easier to see the heart beat, along with providing some signal processing arduino code to return the beats per minute if i get enough support.
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
Oh, so it doesn't have an inbuilt display?
The £5 would just cover the cost of the heart rate sensor. The idea is that you would attach it to an arduino or other microcontroller. However, if you wanted to, it wouldn't be too difficult to add a display... i could give you a few tips if you like.
 
Last edited:

dannyf

Joined Sep 13, 2015
2,197
Would anyone be interested in buying one if i go ahead?
People interested in it wouldn't care about its price. People not interested wouldn't be swayed by its price.

I think for something so niche, you are far better off selling it to an OEM.

If you really want to go down the path of individual consumers, figure out an application for it and provide a complete solution: like a hear rate sensor integrated into one's watch; or a heart rate sensor that can be attached to a smartphone's headphone jack + appropriate apps.
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
Oh, so it doesn't have an inbuilt display?
People interested in it wouldn't care about its price. People not interested wouldn't be swayed by its price.

I think for something so niche, you are far better off selling it to an OEM.

If you really want to go down the path of individual consumers, figure out an application for it and provide a complete solution: like a hear rate sensor integrated into one's watch; or a heart rate sensor that can be attached to a smartphone's headphone jack + appropriate apps.
Thanks for the suggestion.
This is great sensor to go inside a smartwatch. The problem is that most smartwatch manufactures already have a supplier of heart rate sensors. However, this sensor has not reached the electronics hobbyist market, so i thought it would be worth while seeing if enough people were interested in it. I would need at least 200 people to state an interest before i could make an order.
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
If everybody would prefer a heart rate sensor that is attached to an arduino, or a screen, or to have bluetooth, then let me know. I wouldn't be able to give it to you for £5/$8, but at least you would be getting a product you wanted.

Or if anyone has any other ideas of ways to use the heart rate sensor i would be happy to look into them.
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
Thanks for pointing that out. $15 is not a bad price, but the ones in your link are not really for hobbyist, plus they are limited to work only on the finger tips. I want to create a board that is easy and convenient to use, and is not limited so much by location. At £5/$8 i thought that was pretty good?
 

#12

Joined Nov 30, 2010
18,224
limited to work only on the finger tips
That seems to be your best point yet. Besides double amputees:rolleyes:, an ambulance crew could just stick one of your sensors anywhere that isn't bloody. Maybe that is your target market.

You can also assume the price will go down when they are made by the thousands in China.
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
Your price seems high for a naked sensor. If it could talk wirelessly to my iPhone, it might be interesting. But for something that needs power and wiring? Existing solutions are more competitive.
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
Thanks for your help everyone.

This heart rate sensor is a lot better than what is currently available to DIY electronics hobbyist, especially at £5/$8, but it does not look like there is enough interest to order a large batch of several hundred of them.

If anyone does become interested in buying a large batch then let me know.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
I have also designed circuits (that look incredible and are dead cheap) about 10 years after they were obsolete.
At last I beat you at something, #12... I've designed some beautiful pieces of technology 30 years after it became obsolete!
 

wayneh

Joined Sep 9, 2010
17,496
You haven't defined what is "a lot better". For instance I can go get one of these for $15 and have a complete solution. To me, that's "a lot better" than a naked sensor.
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
That is perfect for people who want a device that only works around the chest and are not interested in doing any custom work. The sensor i wanted to release is for the DIY electronics community who want to build there own custom projects and want a decent heart rate sensor that works on most parts of the body.
 

Alec_t

Joined Sep 17, 2013
14,280
Perhaps I'm missing something, but what advantage is there in measuring heart rate other than via a finger or wrist-band or blood-pressure cuff, as is done conventionally? Having to attach yourself to a PC/external display would be inconvenient.
 

Thread Starter

Cannonball2134

Joined May 9, 2011
18
Perhaps I'm missing something, but what advantage is there in measuring heart rate other than via a finger or wrist-band or blood-pressure cuff, as is done conventionally? Having to attach yourself to a PC/external display would be inconvenient.
Well, the great thing is that you can put them anywhere. Put it in your hat, your shoes, sow it into your socks, trousers, shirt etc... It gives you freedom to decide where the easiest is. If you attach it to a tiny bluetooth mircontroller then you can send that data to your phone automatically.
 
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