For the last couple of years, I’ve become interested in the “quantified self” movement (also known as self-tracking and bio-hacking). QSers like to measure everything they can about themselves: how long they sleep, how well they sleep, how many calories they consume and burn, their blood pressure, their blood glucose levels, their brainwaves, and so on. They do this because they want to find out how their health and sense of well being is affected by their behavior. To find out more about the quantified self movement, visit the Quantified Self blog, started by Kevin Kelly and Gary Wolf.

The Pulse Sensor is a quantified self device designed by Joel Murphy and Yuri Gitman of New York University. As they describe it, it’s a “well-designed plug-and-play heart-rate sensor for Arduino. It can be used by students, artists, athletes, makers, and game & mobile developers who want to easily incorporate live heart-rate data into their projects.”

They’ll be showing the Pulse Sensor at World Maker Faire New York this weekend, and will also be giving a presentation called “Incorporating Biofeedback into your Arduino Projects” on Sunday at 3:30pm. I’m definitely going to sit in on this!

I interviewed Yuri Gitman the Make: Talk podcast. Here’s the interview with Yuri. I also have an upcoming interview with Joel. In addition, MAKE ran an article about the Pulse Sensor in Volume 29.

Maker Faire Project Profile

Pulse Sensor

Pulse Sensor is a well-designed plug-and-play heart-rate sensor for Arduino. It can be used by students, artists, athletes, makers, and game & mobile developers who want to easily incorporate live heart-rate data into their projects.

• Project Website
• Video
• Maker Faire Page