On June 15, 2025, three Public Invention project teams traveled to Austin, TX, to present their work and demonstrate their projects during Public Invention’s first, in-person Demo Day. The presenters included the PolyVent, the Moonrat Portable Incubator, and the Krake project teams. The latter is an alarm device whose development has been headed by Invention Coach Forrest (Lee) Erickson and Inventor Nagham Kheir. In a recent interview, they described their experiences with the event, and the ways in which the Krake has developed as a result.
The Demo Day Event
The Krake Presentation
A few days before the event, Erickson took the long drive from Tennessee and Kheir flew in from Lebanon to present their work and meet the wider Public Invention team in-person.
Their travels did not deter them from continuing to prepare for the presentation, however, and they actively developed new technology to support the project demonstration and exhibit the Krake’s possible usage in real patient care.
“We had a patient, we had a bed, and we had a PMD…and we were sending messages to the Krake to demo the alarms and the sound of it.” – Nagham Kheir
Kheir designed SpO2 sensors which would simulate the process of gathering live data from a patient. These sensors were added to another technical addition; a PCB called the Homework 2, which the team had previously designed for demonstration purposes. The Homework 2 converted the sensors’ data from the patient into messages for the Krake, and thus became a pseudo medical device (PMD). When the model patient’s SpO2 dropped during the presentation, the PMD signaled this change to the Krake, which annunciated an alarm for the audience much as it would in a clinical setting.
To further connect the project demo to the Krake’s possible usage on a patient, Erickson also built a model bed and brought a ‘patient’ of his own; in this case, a stuffed duck.
“Lee [Erickson] did some woodwork. So, he already prepared a small bed, and he put a bird on it, and that would be our real patient,” Kheir said. “This was our setup to demonstrate Krake. We had a patient, we had a bed, and we had a PMD…and we were sending messages to the Krake to demo the alarms and the sound of it.”
During their presentation, Erickson and Kheir introduced themselves as the creators of the Krake and explained the central aim of the project; to alert users to changing patient states. They provided the reasoning behind the alarm device’s name, which derived from a loud, Lebanese bird known as a crake. Finally, when it came time to demonstrate the Krake itself, they invited the younger members in the audience to test the device for themselves.
“One of our goals was to inspire the next generation of engineers,” Kheir noted. “And so, we used the stuffed duck as a patient and invited the kids to participate.”
While Kheir and Erickson enjoyed presenting, they also appreciated the other speakers and project demos. Erickson noted that Robert Read’s discussion of past inventions and the history of the organization was enlightening. The Invention Coach also valued the audience’s participation.
“It was interesting how people just passing through the library stopped, and some of them expressed interest in the devices, and in particular the Krake,” Erickson said. “There were people who were product developers there who could appreciate what we had done, and it was remarkable to get a few people like that in what amounted to a public space.”
A medical doctor in the audience also participated during the presentation, asking relevant questions about its use in a clinical setting. Both Kheir and Erickson explained the Krake’s setup, the need for separate sensors and connectors, and the value it could add to one’s medical practice. Overall, both Kheir and Erickson were satisfied with the result of the demo day, though they would continue to develop the Krake over the following months.
Post Demo Day
The Krake’s Technical Development
Since the Demo Day back in June, the team has taken what they learned from the experience to continue the Krake’s development. On the technical side, this development includes enhancement of the project’s audio system and updates for its user interface. Most recently, the Krake team has also begun optimizing the device’s wire assembly for manufacturers.
“Right now, we’re at the stage where we received the second revision from the manufacturer, and we’re testing our boards. Soon we’re going to assemble and start factory testing the Krake,” Kheir said.
Erickson described just one of the changes made to accommodate manufacturers.
“We moved components away a little bit to make sure that when we’re putting a nut driver near things during the assembly process, we don’t physically contact and possibly damage JSON components,” he said.
Growth for the Krake Project Team
“Up until the Demo Day, Krake’s team was me, Lee, and Robert, but then we were blessed with new volunteers.” – Nagham Kheir
Due to the growing interest in the Krake Project, the team has also tripled its number of volunteers. This growth has supported the Krake’s development, bringing multiple new skillsets to the project and providing the two Invention Coaches with the ability to assign tasks and manage the project on a larger scale.
“Up until the Demo Day, Krake’s team was me, Lee, and Robert, but then we were blessed with new volunteers,” Kheir said. “We’ve got volunteers from different disciplines, and so each of them are helping us with their skills. The basic groups are people who are working on the enclosure, so the mechanical design, printed wiring assembly design, electric and electronics, software, and documentation.”
While this change has altered Kheir’s role, as she has grown to act as both Inventor and project manager, she and Erickson have optimized GitHub for project management and documentation purposes. This has allowed them to accommodate the team’s growth, as well as improve the traceability of their alarm design process.
Another Day, Another Demo (and Publication)
In light of this accelerated progress on the project, the team has begun a draft of a scientific article they hope to publish in 2026. Their team is also projected to continue its expansion, with new members joining mid-January of this year. All in all, the project and team continues to further its reach and development, thus increasing its impact on the field of open-source designs for alarm management in the future.
Some aspects of this development tie back to the Demo Day event held in June of this past year. Consequently, when asked if they would participate in another Demo Day in 2026, Kheir and Erickson expressed interest in once more getting involved and presenting the new and improved version of the Krake.
Ultimately, the Krake project aims to serve future patients and emergency medical staff through providing necessary information about patient states. However, it is more than simply a device; at Public Invention, the Krake has developed into a supportive team that hopes to not only create one device, but also to provide insights and relevant research for future devices and alarm development. To this end, Kheir and Erickson both emphasized the importance of documenting the project’s creation process, which will allow other Inventors and engineers to build on Krake’s progress and improve the world of general purpose alarms for the global community, and those of the future.