What is the story about?
Imagine being able to watch your dreams like a movie. Researchers in Japan recently revealed technology that can read your brain activity while you sleep and make rough visuals of your dreams.
Now, some tech enthusiasts are taking it into their own hands, trying to build DIY dream recorders at home. While these homemade versions aren't perfect, they give a glimpse of what the future of dream research could look like.
What is a Dream Recorder?
A Dream Recorder is a bedside device that records your dreams while you sleep and plays them back like a short movie, so you can see your dreams as clear, vivid images.
The Dream Recorder is designed not to disturb your sleep. The device works on its own, free from apps and notifications, leaving only a gentle glow in the dark. The device has seven slots, one for each day of the week. It stores a week of dreams, letting you play them back later.
How does Dream Recorder work?
The device records your dreams in a simple and basic way. When you sleep, the device records your brain using EEG (sensors on your head) or fMRI (brain scanner) to read your brain signals. After you wake up, you say your dream out loud. The device then takes what you said and turns it into a visual "dreamscape."
The result isn't a perfect movie but blurry, hazy, and surreal, just like actual dreams.
How to create your own Dream Recorder?
Get a Raspberry Pi.
Download and install Raspberry Pi Imager on your computer.
Connect it to your network.
Install RealVNC on your computer.
Sign up for OpenAI and Luma Labs and generate API keys and save them.
Install the Dream Recorder software.
Use the 3D files from the repository to 3D print a case for the device and assemble it.
Sleep, speak your dreams, and watch them as dreamlike videos.
The founders of Dream Recorder said that this device helps you connect with your own mind first thing in the morning, instead of immediately checking your phone. It creatively visualizes what you remember and narrates using neural networks.
"For the first time, we have tools capable of giving shape to the subconscious, turning the invisible into something we can see, and maybe even begin to understand," said one of the founders.
Now, some tech enthusiasts are taking it into their own hands, trying to build DIY dream recorders at home. While these homemade versions aren't perfect, they give a glimpse of what the future of dream research could look like.
What is a Dream Recorder?
A Dream Recorder is a bedside device that records your dreams while you sleep and plays them back like a short movie, so you can see your dreams as clear, vivid images.
The Dream Recorder is designed not to disturb your sleep. The device works on its own, free from apps and notifications, leaving only a gentle glow in the dark. The device has seven slots, one for each day of the week. It stores a week of dreams, letting you play them back later.
Introducing Dream Recorder — the magical bedside open-source device that plays your dreams back as cinematic reels.
Build your own https://t.co/mjJzytwDv2 pic.twitter.com/ztfACdrEFD
— MODEM (@modem_works) June 17, 2025
How does Dream Recorder work?
The device records your dreams in a simple and basic way. When you sleep, the device records your brain using EEG (sensors on your head) or fMRI (brain scanner) to read your brain signals. After you wake up, you say your dream out loud. The device then takes what you said and turns it into a visual "dreamscape."
The result isn't a perfect movie but blurry, hazy, and surreal, just like actual dreams.
A DIY device turns your dreams into
videos using AI. The Dream Recorder lets you describe your dreams out loud.
The Dream Recorder is "a portal to your subconscious" that captures your elusive dreams and "plays them back as vivid, cinematic reels," according to its website. pic.twitter.com/tKwTIGlfIH
— Rhema News (@rhemanewsplus) July 27, 2025
How to create your own Dream Recorder?
Get a Raspberry Pi.
Download and install Raspberry Pi Imager on your computer.
Connect it to your network.
Install RealVNC on your computer.
Sign up for OpenAI and Luma Labs and generate API keys and save them.
Install the Dream Recorder software.
Use the 3D files from the repository to 3D print a case for the device and assemble it.
Sleep, speak your dreams, and watch them as dreamlike videos.
The founders of Dream Recorder said that this device helps you connect with your own mind first thing in the morning, instead of immediately checking your phone. It creatively visualizes what you remember and narrates using neural networks.
"For the first time, we have tools capable of giving shape to the subconscious, turning the invisible into something we can see, and maybe even begin to understand," said one of the founders.
