I'm a programmer by trade, and I dabble with electronics as a hobby. A few years back, I decided I wanted to make my own NovaDreamer / REM Dreamer / etc mask. I don't have much time for it, but I'm making slow progress.

My initial attempts were all shaped after the other products, and nothing I tried worked for me. I'm a side sleeper, and their board designs were all so big that they'd hit my pillow. Not only were they uncomfortable, but whenever I woke up I'd find the mask had slid up to my forehead. My latest design is radically different, and initial results have been promising. It's comfortable, it stays in place all night, and the lights are clearly visible. The sensors I chose ended up not working well, but I've got new ones the way that I hope will work better.

Why do this? I've got a few reasons. One was cost: commercial offerings are remarkably expensive (though, by now, I've probably spent as much on this project as if I'd just purchased one). Of course, learning more about electronics was another. A third is that I want to do things that none of the commercial offerings provide. I don't just want it to blink at me; I want it to MORSE at me, sending something like "dreaming." Plus, if it can tell when my eyes are moving vs when they aren't, then I should be able to program it to pick out simple patterns and respond to them. How much of this is really possible and how much is a pipe dream? Only time will tell.