Ford Smart Bed Rolls Sleepers Back To Their Own Side Of The Mattress

Ford Europe is back with another interesting innovation, this one designed to solve the age-old problem of people who hog the bed. Tired of your significant other crowding your side of the mattress? This Ford smart bed can automatically roll them back onto their own side, helping each person get restful sleep without resorting to separate beds. The new smart bed joins the smart dog house Ford Europe introduced last year.

Ford points toward the growing trend of "bed divorce," in which a couple chooses to sleep in separate beds in order to avoid disruptions at night, which are often caused by one person crowding the other. The company has dubbed its new innovation the Lane-Keeping Bed, one that utilizes Ford's automotive tech to solve an annoying household problem.

The smart bed was inspired by Ford's Lane-Keeping Aid technology, which is used in cars to monitor marks on the road and nudge the steering wheel in the right direction to keep the vehicle within the correct lane. The bed is similar, though it uses pressure sensors to keep tabs on where each person is positioned.

A conveyor belt built into the bed adjusts to return the person back to their own side of the mattress when they move outside their bounds. This process is described as gentle, allowing both people to remain asleep and, hopefully, wake up refreshed instead of frustrated.

Unfortunately, this bed isn't something you can actually purchase; it is just a prototype at this time, as was the smart dog house the company showed off in 2018. In that case, Ford researchers developed a dog house prototype that could keep pets calm during fireworks by utilizing noise cancellation technology.