Sleep trackers and Android apps intended to help users fall asleep are definitely nothing new, but true innovation happens when a company with 30 years of experience in sleep steps up. Just such a thing has happened at this year’s CES. Sleep Number has decided now is the time to get in the game with a brand new smart bed. The smart bed has been granted the CES Innovation Awards “Best of Innovation” Honoree in the Home Appliances category. If that isn’t a big enough indicator for how big a leap forward in sleeping this bed is, it’s likely nothing will convince you but the pure, unadulterated details.
Sleep Number is calling its newest innovation Sleep Number 360 and as far as these things go, it is a genuine leap in technology. The bed is designed to learn a sleeper’s habits and really bring new meaning to a good night’s rest. It will also bring a whole new kind of functionality – at least as far as beds are concerned – in helping its users with both falling asleep and waking up. Basic functionality will include foot warming, set to function on a timed system so that it is ready to go by the time you are ready for bed. An alarm function will also be available to help users wake up in a timely fashion – using in-bed sensors to detect the optimal time for waking.
Moving on to the more interesting details, the Sleep Number 360 Smart Bed is as intelligent and innovative as nearly any futurist’s dream. The bed features smart functions that will adjust the bed as you sleep to provide support during shifts to new sleeping positions. Whether sleeping on your side, back, or stomach, support will be adjusted to reduce stress on pressure points and help you keep sleeping soundly. Speaking of sleeping soundly, the bed will also feature a head tilting mechanism to help alleviate the more common snoring problems. To accomplish this, the bed will “hear” when a sleeper is snoring and automatically adjust the angle of that sleeper’s head. If that doesn’t stop your loved one’s snoring and you are forced to get up for a moment, the sleep number bed also has a lighting system that will sense you getting up and light up the area around the bed. There are many other functions that the Sleep Number 360 smart bed will have, and all of it is controllable from your Android smartphone. Pricing is not yet known for the latest in bedtime tech, but as with other Sleep Number setups, there will be a variety of bases and mattresses available at different price tiers. Sleep Number has said that the 360 smart bed will be rolled out throughout 2017, a welcome addition to the connected household.
