Thought Catcher (TC-01)

Thought Catcher (TC-01) is a screenless, bedside voice note device designed to capture late-night ideas, tasks, and thoughts without opening a smartphone. Built using a Raspberry Pi, TC-01 offers a calm, intentional alternative to phone-based note-taking—especially in moments where screens disrupt focus, sleep, or creative flow.

The device lives on the bedside table and uses a simple physical interaction: press a button, speak your thought, press again, and hear a confirmation beep. The captured audio is transcribed locally using offline speech-to-text, intelligently interpreted to infer intent, urgency, and structure, and then automatically organised into a Notion database as an idea, task, or note.

Designed as an exploration in physical computing, calm technology, and interaction design, Thought Catcher separates the act of capturing thoughts from organising them—allowing users to offload ideas in fragile moments and return to rest without distraction.

This project reflects an interest in screenless interfaces, intentional friction, and designing for specific cognitive states rather than generic users.

Read the full project story and making process on the blog!