Who says we have to sit at desks to be productive? Leggett & Platt is showing off a product they have in development called the “Starry Night Bed.” I call it a bed made for web workers. Not only does it integrate the kinds of electronic controls we need to do our jobs, but it includes intelligence to make sure we get the kind of sleep we need to face a hard day of work.
The bed includes built-in electronics: wireless Internet connectivity and a wireless keyboard; a built-in iPod docking station; integration to life|ware Connected, a Windows Media Center program that controls home electronics; as well as 1.5 terabytes of storage to maintain your media collections.
It provides a surround sound system with four eight-inch subwoofers, an audiophile ribbon tweeter, and 2,500 watt RMS amplification. A headboard projector casts a 120-inch (10-foot) screen on the wall and can be used to project movies, books, music navigation features, the Internet and the local daily weather.
Next, there’s anti-snore technology. The bed detects snoring with a vibration-detection system and automatically moves itself into an angle that will help open the sleeper’s nasal passages to reduce mild to moderate snoring. When the snoring stops, the bed returns to its original position.
Plus, vibration sensor and load cell technologies measure how much you toss and turn, and how often you get out of bed during the night. According to a company press release, the same vibration sensor technology detects and monitors rhythmic breathing patterns that indicate relaxation. It compares these movements to a 30-day baseline measure of the sleeper and then provides tips on a “Good Morning Screen” to improve sleep quality. That’s right. Your bed will start giving you advice about how to improve your sleep performance.
If you don’t sleep alone, each of you can control the temperature on your side of the bed, from 68 degrees to 117 degrees Fahrenheit.
The bed is expected to be out in 2009 and to cost between $20,000 and $50,000, depending on your configuration.
Sure, there are a few gaps here. For one, the design looks like something only the Gabor sisters would love. Second, it doesn’t automate the changing of sheets. Third, a single projection would pose a real problem in my household. We’d always be arguing about whose work deserved the “wall.”
What do you think it’s missing to become the workspace — er, bed — of your dreams?
{"source":"https:\/\/gigaom.com\/2008\/02\/26\/a-bed-for-web-workers\/wijax\/49e8740702c6da9341d50357217fb629","varname":"wijax_14d05e86804936b3a35e63974c3431d6","title_element":"header","title_class":"widget-title","title_before":"%3Cheader%20class%3D%22widget-title%22%3E","title_after":"%3C%2Fheader%3E"}