Psi Lantern
The Psi Lantern is a hand-portable, lantern-form-factor combined sensor + indicator unit designed for operator-led psi-environmental reconnaissance in indoor or low-visibility settings. Engineering-honestly, a Psi Compass in lantern shape with omnidirectional sensing and a visible status display; doctrinally, the smallest piece of fielded Psi-Tech that can be handed to a recruit on their first walk.
Overview
The Lantern provides:
- Ambient field readout — color-graded LED lantern shell indicating local field-coherence state.
- Bearing-on-tap — held shaken or twisted, switches from ambient mode to bearing mode (acts as a Psi Compass with reduced sensitivity).
- Threshold ping — audible chirp on anomaly above operator-tuned threshold.
- Psi Mesh visibility — optional; small mesh node for sharing readings with a nearby operator group.
The Lantern is the canonical "first instrument" handed to a Clan recruit. It is simple, visible, honest about what it sees, and unambiguous about what it does not.
Theoretical Basis
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The detection substrate (magnetometer + electrostatic + IMU) is identical to the Psi Compass; standard environmental sensing.
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A hand-held instrument with ambient-mode display improves operator situational-awareness in indoor environments compared to no instrument. Falsifiable usability study.
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Some classes of indoor "presence" reports correlate with the Lantern's anomaly threshold events. Testable cohort study.
Subsystems and BOM
Mk0 (target ≤ \$25)
- 3D-printed lantern shell + diffuser — \$8
- WS2812B LED ring (24 px) — \$5
- ATtiny85 — \$2
- AAA battery pack — \$3
- Engraved sigil + brass detail — \$7
Pure brand + ritual carrier; no sensors. The Mk0 is the "first lantern" — recruits get one as part of onboarding regardless of follow-on tech.
Mk1 (target ≤ \$120)
- Adafruit Feather nRF52840 — \$25
- HMC5883L ×2 + ICM-20948 — \$22
- Electrostatic probe (DIY) — \$5
- WS2812B ring (24 px) + diffuser shell — \$10
- Buzzer + bone-conduction option — \$10
- 18 650 + TP4056 — \$10
- Lantern enclosure (3D print + brass) — \$30
- Optional Psi Mesh LoRa back — \$20
Battery life target: ≥ 8 hours active, ≥ 30 days standby.
Mk2 / Mk3
Mk2: fluxgate magnetometer; multi-day battery; map-overlay companion app. Mk3: Resonant Finder tile feed integration.
Build Notes
- Visible-by-design. The Lantern's primary output is its glow. Operators (and bystanders) should be able to read state at a glance.
- Bystanders matter. The Lantern is the most public-visible Psi-Tech form factor. Briefing material explains the Lantern's outputs to anyone who asks.
- Hand-shake mode-switch. IMU detects shake/twist gestures; no fiddly buttons in low-light.
- Audio off-by-default in public. Chirp ping silenced in default profile; haptic-only.
Safety and Ethics
- No emitter (sensor-only).
- No personal data captured.
- Bystander-aware: documented and visible operation.
- Threshold tunable; default low to avoid false alarm fatigue.
Maturity
Maturity (Mk0 → Mk3)
See Tho'ra Tech Maturity Levels for the convention.
| Mark | Phase | Status | Confidence | Evidence Base | Next Validation Gate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mk0 | Cosplay-type | Complete | 100% (symbolic) | Ritual + build practice | User satisfaction |
| Mk1 | Prototype | Active | — | — | — |
| Mk2 | Test-type | Planned | — | — | — |
| Mk3 | Production | Projected | — | — | — |
Failure Modes and Mitigations
- Battery exhaustion. → Low-battery LED + graceful shutdown.
- Bystander concern about a glowing object. → Documentation card on every Lantern issuance.
- Threshold false alarm fatigue. → Default low chirp threshold; per-operator tunable.
- Magnetic compass calibration drift. → Auto-recalibration on stable-pose detection.
- Lost Lantern. → Cheap to replace; no identity binding.
- Operator over-trust of glow color. → Briefing material emphasises "signal, not meaning".
