Does anyone still have a real clock in their bedroom these days? It seems long gone are the white dreamcubes the cool kids had in their dorm rooms, and the alarm clocks with red neon numbers that would flash annoyingly until you fixed them.
You may, in fact, be able to look around and see that your family doesn’t own a single clock; you do, however, most likely own at least one–and perhaps within a household, a handful of them–in your smartphone. And if you are like the rest of us, you probably wake up in the middle of the night and shuffle around blindly reaching for the phone, hoping you still have a nice amount of hours left to snooze
Along with the culture of the smartphone though, these days we like to have everything available with as little exertion involved as possible–and turning on a bright device at 3 a.m. routinely to check things out is not only a habit that grows tiresome, it is also one of those practices that could eventually begin to grate on that ever-patient spouse. Yvonne Joh of Germany had one of those rare midnight epiphanies, however, and the 3D printed DreamMe was born.
“I have a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night–and when I do, I automatically check the time,” says Yvonne, a hobbyist inventor. “This often annoys my husband, because he is a light sleeper. I have to be very discreet not to disturb him. While lying in bed one night, I checked the time, email, Twitter, etc., similar to what most of us do on our smartphones, and I thought to myself, why not have a feature display a time and date on the ceiling, integrated directly onto my smartphone?”
Most of us know that it’s one thing to have a great idea in the middle of the night–but following through with a plan and then executing it is another matter altogether. The key was that Yvonne was still highly motivated when she woke up the next morning–and she went right to work, discussing the plan with friends who worked with her as an enthusiastic team. Together, they figured out the hardware and design details for what became DreamMe, which has just been launched on Kickstarter. Yvonne hopes to raise €7,000 (just under $8,000 USD) by September 23rd so that the team can purchase manufacturing tools and begin production.
After examining many ideas and different designs, the team settled on the combination of an app, a 3D printed design, and the lens, which is really the central ‘focus’ of their product, as it does the most important work in displaying the information on the ceiling.
“We haven’t counted the number of lenses and optics we tested,” said the team. “Finally, we decided not to pick the cheapest, but the best of them all–an aspheric lens made in Germany.”
Without any additional electronics required (besides your smartphone), the team points out the system is “purely passive,” making it perfect for your bedroom area or anywhere that is darkened.
Along the way, they’ve added far more than just a function for being able to see the time. Users are able to see a variety of displays–from texts and emails–to being able to count sheep. All you have to do is activate the app, place the 3D printed device on top of your smartphone, and look up, from the comfort of your warm bed. You can check out the weather report, switch to another time zone, and far more. The 3D printed device is available in black or white, but users can purchase special rings to accent the lightweight, compact DreamMe with color. It’s small enough to be easily packed for a business trip, and focus is easily adapted to the height of any room.
The product is also promising in its affordability–and especially if you are an early bird pledging in the Kickstarter campaign. For just €16 (around $18 USD), 50 backers will receive the 3D printed DreamMe in white or black, with the app. Prices ascend as you order colored focus rings and additional bodies in either black or white. If you want to pay extra while ordering, you can have your DreamMe 3D printed as soon as the Kickstarter campaign is completed, with it being shipped to you in October, rather than waiting until December.
Will you be supporting this Kickstarter campaign? Is this a 3D printed product you would find helpful? Discuss your thoughts on this new design in the 3D Printed DreamMe forum thread over at 3DPB.com.
