This morning I got up before the crack of dawn, when even the roosters were still deep in REM sleep. “Go’ Morgen P3″ – an entertaining morning show on the Danish National Radio. The hosts on the radio show had read The Economist’s trendpick for 2008, which says sleep is the new sex. And the reason why I got up so early was not to prove the trend wrong, but merely to tell a little about how technology and innovation will melt into our bedrooms over the next decade or so. Listen here (in Danish).

At Seismonaut we don’t deal much with future forecasting. However, we like to think we are quite updated on the technological development and experience design. One of the major things going on at the moment is personalisation. This means having something pre-fabricated act and adjust according to my or your’s needs and wants. This is where technology comes in handy. Sensors, small digital chips, sense how I am and how the room are. The sensors communicate with the light, sound (if you have a stereo in the bedroom), thermostat, air condition etc. and adjust them according to my needs and use pattern. Everything plays together to provide the optimal experience.

In the bedroom that means the sensors understand that little movement, low pulse and regular heart rhytm means I am asleep. And accordingly the room is adjusted with dimmed light, pleasant temperature and fresh air. On the other hand the room also adapts to high pulse, heavy breathing and lots of movement – and perhaps therefore turn the light rosy and plays Barry White…

These scenarios are not far-fetched. Philips Design has worked quite a lot with technologies able to do this. Ambient Intelligence they call it, which means intelligence fades into our surroundings. They have developed some very cool concepts around Simplicity, which I can strongly recommend to check out.

The design philosophy fits very much with the one we have at Seismonaut. It is always about people’s needs and how the technology can ease our lives. The keywords are not functionality, aesthetics and specifications, which are typical engineering words, but rather sharing, relaxation, movement and caring – words that are much more attuned with our everyday lives. It is a much more humanized way of thinking design and development.