After coming up with the clever Noise-Cancelling Kennel and Max Motor Dreams baby crib—which are both a part of the Ford Interventions campaign—the automaker has recently launched the Lane-Keeping Bed. This incredibly smart bed promises couples to deliver a good night sleep – and for both of them. What makes this piece of furniture a revolutionary one is that it is able to identify a “selfish space invader” who keeps rolling to the other side of the bed and acts to put them back to where they actually belong.
To create the bed, Ford used its technology initially designated for cars called Lane-Keeping Aid. This feature monitors road markings that lie in front of the vehicle and actively supports the driver to safely guide the vehicle back into the correct lane by “nudging” the steering wheel in the correct direction. This allows the other camera-based systems to help drivers avoid straying out of their lane.
The technology incorporated in the Lane-Keeping Bed uses pressure sensors to identify when an intruder has rolled out to the other side of the bed. When “activated,” the feature gently pushes the guilty person to the right side of the bed. So, no more waking up their partner.
Dr. Neil Stanley, an independent sleep expert and author of How to Sleep Well said: “When sleeping together, many couples each have less space than a small child has in a single bed. Humans are most vulnerable when sleeping, so we’re programmed to wake when something or someone touches us unexpectedly. If someone moves onto your side of the bed this defense mechanism will kick in and you’ll have a broken night, often while they continue to sleep soundly. I’ve seen it ruin relationships.”
Anthony Ireson, Director of Marketing Communications at Ford Europe, added: “Lane-Keeping Aid in our cars can make driving easier and more comfortable. We thought that showing how similar thinking could be applied to a bed, would be a great way to highlight to drivers a technology that they might not previously have been aware of.”
To contour the one-of-a-kind bed, Ford worked closely with Espadaysantacruz Studio, which helped the multinational brand develop a visual experience to show to the audience how the bed actually works. In the film, the Madrid-based studio used a crane designed by the studio in order to create a continuous elliptical movement around different beds, therefore illustrating the universality of this issue.
The bed has been designed and tested as a prototype. To bring the concept to life, a plethora of engineers and technicians worked on the research, development, and production phases of the bed. Then, in a controlled environment, they replicated the movement of a couple during the night. Although the studio claims that the bed is perfectly functional, they want to mention that it was never tested on real people, nor they can speak about its quality of sleep.
We can only pray that this bed maybe one day mass-produced, and we’ll be able to actually buy it from a store. Imagine how cool it would be to come home, cozying up near to the one you love, and after you fall asleep, you could share the bed equally, regardless of how active one of the partners is during the night.
Credits:
Studio: Espadaysantacruz
Client: Ford
Agency: GTB London
Film direction, Design & Production: Espadaysantacruz Studio
Music: TDL Music