Insomnia aids at IFA 2018: ‘breathing’ robots that put you to sleep, eye massagers, brain-hacking headbands
From a cat-sized robot that’s warm, breathes and plays music, to headbands that help you meditate and play tones, ‘sleep tech’ is a growing field
Staring at screens all night is affecting the sleep of many. But what if technology actually helped you get some shut-eye? This week’s IFA 2018 exhibition in Berlin, Germany, saw a slew of technological sleep aids to give insomniacs hope, from eye masks and earphones to “sleep robots”.
Yes, the most unexpected sleep device in Berlin was Somnox, a clunky name for what is a delightfully charming “baby robot” that is designed to help sufferers of insomnia get some rest.
“It helps you get to sleep faster and sleep for longer,” said Julian Jagtenberg, founder of Dutch company Somnox, and a robotics engineer, as he handed over a bean-shaped, cat-sized device.
It’s warm, it’s soft, and it emits dreamy ambient sounds. It’s also breathing. As I hold Somnox to my chest, my fingers naturally rest on the robot’s “lungs”. It's their gentle rise and fall, as the robot mimics soft breathing, that is central to what this sleep robot is trying to do.
“You feel the physical sensation of the falling and rising of the breath, it’s very slow-paced, and it also starts synchronising to your breathing rhythm. It then gradually slows down to a meditative state almost like a Buddhist monk,” explains Jagtenberg, whose T-shirt declares “I Go To Bed With A Robot”.