If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, it’s a place where creators and backers make projects come to life. The creators set a funding goal and deadline and if backers like the project, they can pledge money to help get the ball rolling. Kickstarter funding is an all-or-nothing type deal, meaning if the projects don’t hit their funding goals by deadline, they don’t receive any money. Here’s one of the most-backed Kickstarter projects of 2014 (and, I’m proclaiming it to be one of the coolest). Check it out.
Sense by Hello
Their tagline is “Know More. Sleep Better.” And that pretty much sums it up. This simple system tracks your sleep behavior and monitors your bedroom environment, and claims to “reinvent the alarm.”
What does that mean? Well, it combines your sleep patterns with the data of the environment in your room (noise, light, temperature, humidity, particles in the air, etc.). The Smart Alarm will wake you at just the perfect time in your sleep cycle, or so they say, so you don’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed (no, not literally). They have both iPhone and Android applications so you can get updates about how you slept the night before (aka your Sleep Score), if you don’t already know (zzzz). Slip the small ‘Sleep Pill’ on your pillow and get to bed.
You’ll be able to see (and hear) external conditions and disturbances that caused you to wake up. Just play back the key sound disturbances via the app and you may just find out what broke your sleep cycle at 2 am. Perhaps it was the sweet cat pawing at your face that disturbed your slumber, or your sister barging into the house after a long night of “studying,” or so she claims. Either way, you’ll know.
So how does Sense work exactly? Let’s dig in.
Getting Technical
There are multiple sensors being used in this sleep gadget, including an ambient light sensor, temperature and humidity sensors, and a particulate sensor. The ambient light sensor does what it sounds like—monitors the levels of light in your room. If your room is super dark, and you make adjustments to avoid sudden light interruptions (from things like your phone or car headlights), you may actually get a better sleep score. The temperature and humidity sensors detect just that. Sense actually learns what conditions are best for you to sleep in, allowing you to adjust your room based on their findings. You may have the heat up too high, causing you to toss and turn all night. The particulate sensor spots even the smallest things floating in the air that may cause nasal allergies, leading to interruptions. If the pollen count is high in your area, Sense will know, and the answer may be as easy as closing your windows.
We obviously have an affinity for all things wireless, which brings us to the next piece. The 6-axis accelerometer and gyroscope are capable of picking up even the smallest movements throughout the night. Sense is WiFi enabled and your sleep results are sent wirelessly via Bluetooth Low Energy and ANT to Sense. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) lets Sense “sense” when you’re around and allows you to set alarms and change your settings pretty quickly. ANT lets that ‘Sleep Pill’ communicate with Sense to record your sleep data seamlessly. Also included is a microphone to pick up snoring, sleep talking, and other possible noise disturbances occurring during the night. Play ‘em back on the internal speaker to help you pinpoint the disturbance and to wake you up at your scheduled time. There are a couple RGB LEDs built in as well, all residing together on four printed circuit boards (PCBs) that are stacked on top of one another.
Sense was designed for pretty much everyone. As much as two-thirds of people aren’t getting enough sleep. Millions of people think they’re actually sleeping better than they really are. Sense lets you find out how you’re really sleeping. The goal? Obviously to allow you to improve your sleep, with that however comes (according to Sense) improved memory and immune systems, helps with weight management and helps you deal with stress better, makes you more creative and even more productive.
Interested in learning more about Sense? Find them on more about ‘em on Kickstarter or on their website.
What do you think? Would you back Sense? Comment below, or email your comments to [email protected].
Filed Under: M2M (machine to machine)