Smart Pillow Monitors Sleep Quality and Generates Power Using Nano Friction Generators.
Close monitoring in medical laboratories overnight can provide a clear picture of sleep quality. Meanwhile, wearable devices are a more feasible solution for daily use, but they fall short in accuracy compared to the former method.
Scientists develop a self-powered sleep monitoring pillow through head movement. (Photo: Haiying Kou)
Chinese scientists have developed a smart pillow that serves as a middle ground between these two solutions, as reported by New Atlas on June 5. It can monitor sleep quality through head movement and simultaneously generate energy from that movement. The new research has been published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.
The idea for this smart pillow model originated from previous research by a team of Chinese scientists on sleep monitoring systems capable of tracking movement and harvesting energy overnight using triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG). These systems convert friction and mechanical energy into electrical energy, representing a significant advancement in wearable device research due to their ability to harness energy from body movements.
These generators have previously been integrated into sleep masks and bed sheets to monitor sleep. In the new study, the Chinese experts sought a solution that would not compromise user comfort. The new pillow model contains soft, spongy triboelectric polymer layers that generate electricity when the head moves. These layers are placed at the top of a standard pillow, generating voltage in response to applied pressure.
Tests show that the pillow can monitor the pressure distribution of a dummy head as it changes positions. The pillow is also sensitive enough to track finger movements as they trace letters.
Although this self-powered pillow is designed to assess sleep quality, the scientists believe it could serve multiple purposes, such as monitoring patients with neck conditions or acting as an early warning system for individuals prone to falling out of bed.
