Chattergeist Touch Review
Ghost/Paranormal
Tuesday 5th, December 2023
After coming across details on the Chattergeist Touch device we wanted to know more, so we read everything we could on the device and reached out to Dimension Devices for some further information.
To be transparent, we haven't had hands on to a Chattergeist Touch device so there is a knowledge and experience gap, but with that said the founder of DimensionDevices.co.uk, Barrie was kind enough to answer some questions we had about the Chattergeist Touch device which you can find below.
Who are Dimension Devices, and what gap in the market did you see to fill with the Chattergeist Touch?
Dimension Devices are a very small team of three people, one lead developer (myself), one admin/social media manager (Nina) and one designer (Steve), though Steve only works part time on the project. We're a Derbyshire, UK based team though none of us hail from Derbyshire originally, we're originally from Wiltshire/London/Somerset. We created Dimension Devices as there was a gap in the paranormal device market both in terms of functionality and price. It seems that most (if not all) paranormal investigation devices only do one function and the cost is usually tremendous for such devices. The Ovilus for instance we have seen sell for upwards of $600 alone, which I have stated in many interviews is "daylight robbery" for the functionality it provides. We wanted to bring to market a devices with multiple operating modes as well as options to further extend the modes and functionality via software updates and physical extensions but keep it much more affordable for the average investigator. The project started back 2 years ago with prototypes being made with old Nokia 3310 screens and breadboards and wires. Gradually over the course of these 2 years, we have refined, redesigned and reworked every instance of the device to be the Chattergeist Touch that exists today. It has been quite the journey!
Who is Barrie, the founder of Dimension Devices and why move from being a programmer to an inventor of paranormal specific devices?
It's me! I'm a 40 year old ex-web developer and programmer who has worked for Jeep, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Nikon, Travelodge, Lexmark, MG, Invisalign, Discovery Foods and a whole bunch more! I had been doing this for over 25 years and climbing the "career ladder" the development process had developed into something I no longer enjoyed. It had removed the creativity from the developer and given it to the client. Whereas back in the day you were given a wireframe from a website and you were free to have some creative input into the process, nowadays it is essentially a production line, where you have to churn out digital products as fast as possible with almost zero creative input. Because of this I quit the career and started looking into electronics development. I've been a lifelong researcher into the paranormal and conspiracies from a very young age and I had been looking into ways of making what I have a passion for; my job... And here we are!
Do you believe in the paranormal?
Yes! Although I consider myself a "healthy sceptic" and I will always attempt to debunk anything before blindly believing it. A great example is what I believe ghosts to be, which is "echoes of time", but not in a true "echo" sense, but more in the fact that I believe "All time to be happening all the time". Time is a construct of human perception, but time is not linear... Which means that something in the 1700's is happening right at this moment, the same as something in the 2050's! I also am a believer in Masuru Emoto's theory of water holding memory. So if this is true, then the foundations/bricks/stone that buildings are made out of hold a certain amount of water, therefore could hold intent from previous (and future) occupants!
What is the core software that the Chattergeist Touch device is built on?
Chattergeist Touch is not built upon any core software, it has been coded completely from scratch, though we have made use of the LVGL libraries for animations and displaying graphics. There is no "base software" at all, we're very proud of this fact.
Does the Chattergeist Touch offer integration with other external sources via an API or something else?
Chattergeist Touch does not use any external API or any external sources at all, it was very important to us that we don't rely upon any 3rd party services or any internet services what-so-ever as these can provide investigators with "false positives". Everything Chattergeist Touch does is self-contained.
The Chattergeist Touch has over 17,300 words in a word bank, are these words all English or multiple languages?
It holds 17,300 words in a dictionary file, these are all English words, however we also provide and allow users to upload dictionaries to their device in French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Dutch and German. We also have one dictionary solely with 17,300 words of old English from the 1800s! This is also currently being expanded and we hope to support more languages and eras in the future!
With there being over 600,000 words in the English language alone, do you see Chattergeist building up to this word bank size?
hahaha, indeed. This is something we have been debating for quite some time. Currently Chattergeist Touch does not have the memory capacity to store all of the words in the English language, however this is something we are looking into. We have carefully selected a mix of words from relevant words to paranormal investigation to words about medical issues and procedures through to simple words like "grass" and "tree". We have tried to keep a nice balance between relevant and simple as much as we can. The software of the device is constantly being tweaked for optimisation, so these dictionaries will increase in size over time as new firmware versions are released. Who knows whether we'll get to the full English language! But we have been exploring options such as external storage solutions (SD cards etc). Though we aren't too fond of having SD cards in general, but who knows...!
With micro-EMF, Temperature and Radio-Frequency Noise fluctuation sensors, what are the operating ranges for each of these sensors on the Chattergeist?
In general the EMF detection capabilities of the Chattergeist Touch are specifically constrained to a software range of 0 to 1024 as the detection qualities are relatively weak given it is an on-chip solution, we estimate the EMF detection to be within 1cm of the device itself and it measures EMF in v/mm (which is volts per millimeter) up to around 10mm. Though, contrary to popular belief, this actually works in our favor as it's much less likely to have interference with other devices and electrical signals. So the Chattergeist Touch will detect the current EMF reading and set this as a baseline (which it does on boot of the device) and then compare this against further readings in order to detect a fluctuation beyond the threshold of the sensitivity option set by the user, once this is detected, it will then repeat this process and set a new baseline automatically, therefore auto-calibrating the device as you use it. We use a custom written algorithm to set and detect average fluctuations against this baseline to return results. In terms of temperature, the device can detect between 0 and 120 degrees (though operating temperature is around 90 degrees, any more than that and the device will start to melt!), we utilise the temperature sensor readings in the same way as the EMF readings, using fluctuations and baselines. The RF Noise reading is done via the hardware TRNG (true random number generator) built into the chip of the device, this is something we haven't seen any other device use. Again, we detect a baseline and read potential fluctuations from that baseline. All of this is done in real-time and baselines and averages are adjusted as the device is used.
Does the Chattergeist Touch connect to the internet?
No, while the device does have capabilities of connecting to WiFi, this has been entirely disabled at a hardware level. We did this on purpose and for a two-fold reason: Firstly, battery life is impacted when WiFi is enabled and we wanted battery life to be as long lasting as possible. Secondly, false positives; we did not want ANY outside influence to give any potential false positives. Therefore no internet will ever be used on Chattergeist Touch.
Is data sent from the Chattergeist Touch to any storage device or location not owned by the end user?
No, everything is self-contained in Chattergeist Touch. We will never rely on 3rd party services or send any information from the Chattergeist Touch to any other device that the user does not own. While Chattergeist Touch has BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) capabilities, this is only used in order to read words output on the screen from a mobile phone BLE Reader app. We are currently in the process of developing our own BLE Reader app to simplify this functionality for the average user, as most BLE Reader apps are overly convoluted and complex and we want the experience to be as streamlined as possible.
What kind of security is built into the Chattergeist?
Chattergeist Touch holds not personal information and has no way of being "hacked" via BLE or Wifi as it is a real "standalone" device. There is no security required as everything is self-contained within the device and it is "air-gapped" from all over networks and other devices.
Finally, what does the future look like for Chattergeist Touch and Dimension Devices?
Bright! We have begun development of our first two extensions, the Chattergeist Probe which allows you to set a baseline reading from physical objects. I.e. you press the device against a physical object and calibrate it against that object instead of the ambient environmental data. And we're also developing a wrist strap and battery pack, which allows users to wear Chattergeist Touch like a smart watch! 2024 will be an exciting year for us as we start to push forward on extensions, mods and even more software updates. Things are going to get spicy and interesting! Chattergeist Touch is not going anywhere, it's only going to get better!
One last question we had with regard to the wrist strap and the potential of having the Chattergeist Touch device so close the the human body and the affect the wrist strap will have on the micro-EMF, Temperature and Radio-Frequency Noise fluctuation sensors. Barrie was happy to explain some of the mitigations and considerations that have been taken and directions they are thinking of going in the future to remove any chances of inaccurate data or data that is unknowingly affected by natural EMFs or body temperature.
Once we get hands on one of the devices we'll bring you further information and details about the Chattergeist Touch device.
Thanks to Barrie from Dimension Devices for talking to us and answering our questions with regard to the Chattergeist Touch device.
To be transparent, we haven't had hands on to a Chattergeist Touch device so there is a knowledge and experience gap, but with that said the founder of DimensionDevices.co.uk, Barrie was kind enough to answer some questions we had about the Chattergeist Touch device which you can find below.
Who are Dimension Devices, and what gap in the market did you see to fill with the Chattergeist Touch?
Dimension Devices are a very small team of three people, one lead developer (myself), one admin/social media manager (Nina) and one designer (Steve), though Steve only works part time on the project. We're a Derbyshire, UK based team though none of us hail from Derbyshire originally, we're originally from Wiltshire/London/Somerset. We created Dimension Devices as there was a gap in the paranormal device market both in terms of functionality and price. It seems that most (if not all) paranormal investigation devices only do one function and the cost is usually tremendous for such devices. The Ovilus for instance we have seen sell for upwards of $600 alone, which I have stated in many interviews is "daylight robbery" for the functionality it provides. We wanted to bring to market a devices with multiple operating modes as well as options to further extend the modes and functionality via software updates and physical extensions but keep it much more affordable for the average investigator. The project started back 2 years ago with prototypes being made with old Nokia 3310 screens and breadboards and wires. Gradually over the course of these 2 years, we have refined, redesigned and reworked every instance of the device to be the Chattergeist Touch that exists today. It has been quite the journey!
Who is Barrie, the founder of Dimension Devices and why move from being a programmer to an inventor of paranormal specific devices?
It's me! I'm a 40 year old ex-web developer and programmer who has worked for Jeep, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Nikon, Travelodge, Lexmark, MG, Invisalign, Discovery Foods and a whole bunch more! I had been doing this for over 25 years and climbing the "career ladder" the development process had developed into something I no longer enjoyed. It had removed the creativity from the developer and given it to the client. Whereas back in the day you were given a wireframe from a website and you were free to have some creative input into the process, nowadays it is essentially a production line, where you have to churn out digital products as fast as possible with almost zero creative input. Because of this I quit the career and started looking into electronics development. I've been a lifelong researcher into the paranormal and conspiracies from a very young age and I had been looking into ways of making what I have a passion for; my job... And here we are!
Do you believe in the paranormal?
Yes! Although I consider myself a "healthy sceptic" and I will always attempt to debunk anything before blindly believing it. A great example is what I believe ghosts to be, which is "echoes of time", but not in a true "echo" sense, but more in the fact that I believe "All time to be happening all the time". Time is a construct of human perception, but time is not linear... Which means that something in the 1700's is happening right at this moment, the same as something in the 2050's! I also am a believer in Masuru Emoto's theory of water holding memory. So if this is true, then the foundations/bricks/stone that buildings are made out of hold a certain amount of water, therefore could hold intent from previous (and future) occupants!
What is the core software that the Chattergeist Touch device is built on?
Chattergeist Touch is not built upon any core software, it has been coded completely from scratch, though we have made use of the LVGL libraries for animations and displaying graphics. There is no "base software" at all, we're very proud of this fact.
Does the Chattergeist Touch offer integration with other external sources via an API or something else?
Chattergeist Touch does not use any external API or any external sources at all, it was very important to us that we don't rely upon any 3rd party services or any internet services what-so-ever as these can provide investigators with "false positives". Everything Chattergeist Touch does is self-contained.
The Chattergeist Touch has over 17,300 words in a word bank, are these words all English or multiple languages?
It holds 17,300 words in a dictionary file, these are all English words, however we also provide and allow users to upload dictionaries to their device in French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Dutch and German. We also have one dictionary solely with 17,300 words of old English from the 1800s! This is also currently being expanded and we hope to support more languages and eras in the future!
With there being over 600,000 words in the English language alone, do you see Chattergeist building up to this word bank size?
hahaha, indeed. This is something we have been debating for quite some time. Currently Chattergeist Touch does not have the memory capacity to store all of the words in the English language, however this is something we are looking into. We have carefully selected a mix of words from relevant words to paranormal investigation to words about medical issues and procedures through to simple words like "grass" and "tree". We have tried to keep a nice balance between relevant and simple as much as we can. The software of the device is constantly being tweaked for optimisation, so these dictionaries will increase in size over time as new firmware versions are released. Who knows whether we'll get to the full English language! But we have been exploring options such as external storage solutions (SD cards etc). Though we aren't too fond of having SD cards in general, but who knows...!
With micro-EMF, Temperature and Radio-Frequency Noise fluctuation sensors, what are the operating ranges for each of these sensors on the Chattergeist?
In general the EMF detection capabilities of the Chattergeist Touch are specifically constrained to a software range of 0 to 1024 as the detection qualities are relatively weak given it is an on-chip solution, we estimate the EMF detection to be within 1cm of the device itself and it measures EMF in v/mm (which is volts per millimeter) up to around 10mm. Though, contrary to popular belief, this actually works in our favor as it's much less likely to have interference with other devices and electrical signals. So the Chattergeist Touch will detect the current EMF reading and set this as a baseline (which it does on boot of the device) and then compare this against further readings in order to detect a fluctuation beyond the threshold of the sensitivity option set by the user, once this is detected, it will then repeat this process and set a new baseline automatically, therefore auto-calibrating the device as you use it. We use a custom written algorithm to set and detect average fluctuations against this baseline to return results. In terms of temperature, the device can detect between 0 and 120 degrees (though operating temperature is around 90 degrees, any more than that and the device will start to melt!), we utilise the temperature sensor readings in the same way as the EMF readings, using fluctuations and baselines. The RF Noise reading is done via the hardware TRNG (true random number generator) built into the chip of the device, this is something we haven't seen any other device use. Again, we detect a baseline and read potential fluctuations from that baseline. All of this is done in real-time and baselines and averages are adjusted as the device is used.
Does the Chattergeist Touch connect to the internet?
No, while the device does have capabilities of connecting to WiFi, this has been entirely disabled at a hardware level. We did this on purpose and for a two-fold reason: Firstly, battery life is impacted when WiFi is enabled and we wanted battery life to be as long lasting as possible. Secondly, false positives; we did not want ANY outside influence to give any potential false positives. Therefore no internet will ever be used on Chattergeist Touch.
Is data sent from the Chattergeist Touch to any storage device or location not owned by the end user?
No, everything is self-contained in Chattergeist Touch. We will never rely on 3rd party services or send any information from the Chattergeist Touch to any other device that the user does not own. While Chattergeist Touch has BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) capabilities, this is only used in order to read words output on the screen from a mobile phone BLE Reader app. We are currently in the process of developing our own BLE Reader app to simplify this functionality for the average user, as most BLE Reader apps are overly convoluted and complex and we want the experience to be as streamlined as possible.
What kind of security is built into the Chattergeist?
Chattergeist Touch holds not personal information and has no way of being "hacked" via BLE or Wifi as it is a real "standalone" device. There is no security required as everything is self-contained within the device and it is "air-gapped" from all over networks and other devices.
Finally, what does the future look like for Chattergeist Touch and Dimension Devices?
Bright! We have begun development of our first two extensions, the Chattergeist Probe which allows you to set a baseline reading from physical objects. I.e. you press the device against a physical object and calibrate it against that object instead of the ambient environmental data. And we're also developing a wrist strap and battery pack, which allows users to wear Chattergeist Touch like a smart watch! 2024 will be an exciting year for us as we start to push forward on extensions, mods and even more software updates. Things are going to get spicy and interesting! Chattergeist Touch is not going anywhere, it's only going to get better!
One last question we had with regard to the wrist strap and the potential of having the Chattergeist Touch device so close the the human body and the affect the wrist strap will have on the micro-EMF, Temperature and Radio-Frequency Noise fluctuation sensors. Barrie was happy to explain some of the mitigations and considerations that have been taken and directions they are thinking of going in the future to remove any chances of inaccurate data or data that is unknowingly affected by natural EMFs or body temperature.
Once we get hands on one of the devices we'll bring you further information and details about the Chattergeist Touch device.
Thanks to Barrie from Dimension Devices for talking to us and answering our questions with regard to the Chattergeist Touch device.
