You're deep in sleep when all of a sudden your bed vibrates or your light flashes ON-OFF-ON-OFF, and you're violently awoken. Not the best start to your day, is it?

What if you could program the sunrise to wake you up at a set time? Two industrial designers from Ireland - Eoin McNally and Ian Walton - have done something kind of like that. They created a prototype that's an alternative to a traditional alarm clock. Called the glo Pillow, it's attracted enough attention to be selected as part of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of 2007.

Aside from the great concept, what makes this product especially interesting is that it works as an alarm clock for those of us with hearing impairments - without having to market it as such. After all, it uses light instead of sound to wake the user. Works for us!

According to Walton's web site, "the pillow uses an LED fabric substrate below the surface to wake the user using light. This substrate also functions as a display, showing the time on the pillow's surface using the grid of LEDs below. Forty minutes before the pre-set alarm time, the pillow begins to glow and gently brings the user out of sleep. This natural waking process helps to set the circadian rhythm or body clock, which results in more healthy sleep/wake patterns." An induction pad charges the pillow when the bed is made, and a fabric interface controls all of the pillow's functions.

The idea for this pillow came about when the teammates were directed to come up with a product to help combat the pressures of a 24-hour lifestyle. The response has clearly been positive, since Walton recently announced that the glo Pillow will be marketed in the near future. Hopefully the U.S. market will be considered as well.

It's not clear how effective this is as a wake-up strategy, but it seems as good as any. It's also hard to say how comfortable this pillow is since people have personal preferences, whether they like their pillows flat, thick, or conformed to their neck. Ideally, the mechanisms for the glo Pillow could be inserted into any pillow.

As we wait for the glo Pillow to transition from a prototype to an actual product, let's ponder a question. It's one that applies to all of us, regardless of hearing: How effective would it be in a pillow fight?

© Copyrighted material, used by permission. This article can not be copied, reproduced, or redistributed without the express written consent of the author. Author's views not necessarily those of i711.com.

View Comments  |  Add Comment  |   Email this Article