Sleeping and Mood Switch: A Radar-Driven Sleep-to-Light Switch

In 2018 I built Sleeping and Mood Switch, a prototype that connects sleep detection to the power switch of lights or other smart devices. The system uses a Walabot radar sensor and heart-rate/breathing signal patterns to decide when someone is asleep, then flips a relay to switch devices automatically.

Project snapshot

• Concept: radar-based sleep detection drives a relay so lights or apps turn off when someone falls asleep.
• Core hardware: Walabot Developer Pack, Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, relay shield, and a simple LED test load.
• Behavior: if the Walabot signal statistics stay below thresholds, the relay toggles the light off; otherwise it stays on.

Why I made it

I wanted a gentle, hands-free way to connect sleep to the environment. The goal was to stop bedtime stories or lights without checking in manually, saving energy and avoiding wake-ups.

Code highlight

The core Python loop reads Walabot image energy, calculates simple statistics, and toggles a GPIO pin that drives the relay. The full script and setup steps are available in the project write-up.

See the full build

• Full write-up, code, and photos: Sleeping and Mood Switch on Hackster
• Demo video: YouTube walkthrough

If you build your own version, I’d love to hear how you adapt it for different lighting or environments.