If you think your dog will one day become intelligent enough to get your work done when resting on your intelligent bed, well, that’s not quite what we’d expect from a smart bed in the future. What you may expect though is a breakfeast recommendation via your handy based on the weight you’ve lost during the night. Maybe even in correlation with your ideal weight or even taking your current digestive activity into account. Too Bold? Well, today's digital transformation, the Internet of Things as well as Nano-technology trigger the bedding industry to develop beds that are more than just „plain comfortable“.
Imagine a hotel bed that recognizes your BMI and takes into consideration what firmness level is ideal for you in accordance to ergonomic principles. Imagine a bed that adjusts the comfort level instantly after you go to bed and rest on the mattress. If you prefer a little bit more dorsal support, you just say "a little firmer please" and the comfort adjusts within a second to match your individual preference. How great is that?!
In the future your bed at home may even be able to recognize that you snore by sensing your respiration or maybe even recognize that you have a problem with reflux from your stomach (telling you that the wine you had for dinner was just too good not to take another glass). As a reaction, the back elevation from your electric adjustable bed base lifts up your upper body slightly to stop the issue and starts supporting digestion. After recognizing that the acute problem has gone, the back part of your bed returns back to normal position whilst your sleep hasn’t been disturbed at all.
Or imagine your bed is able to recognize a romantic situation and automatically your and your partner's favorite love song starts to be played. Cheesy? Well at least it’s a nice thought...
There are a lot of situations in which a bed will be able to deliver a certain extra service to make life more convenient, exciting or joyful. Smart devices, sensors and materials that are able to change their properties will make it possible to recognize instant needs of the sleeping person and to react accordingly with adequate adjustments.
It’s no secret that many bed manufacturers are currently working on such projects and it will be interesting to see the outcome on the coming trade fairs of the bedding industry in Las Vegas and Cologne (Germany) in January. I will be out there scouting for you and then I’ll come back with my feedback and hopefully exciting news about intelligent beds in February 2017.