Smartduvet doesn't think you should make your bed and will do it for you

By Anthony Thurston Published December 1, 2016

Most people wouldn’t peg making their bed as their least favorite chore, but at least one person out there hated it so much that they sought to automate the entire process. From that, the Smartduvet was born.

Currently featured on Kickstarter, the Smartduvet isn’t meant to replace your existing bedding, only enhance it. Its design features an inflatable layer between the duvet and the cover that is controlled by a phone app.

Recommended Videos

With a few clicks on the app, you can activate your Smartduvet to make the bed instantly. It even has the ability to schedule bed makings for a particular desired time. Each day can be scheduled individually so that you can sleep in on the weekends if you really want to.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The inflatable layer is made of space age, lightweight, breathable material and which an included pump fills with air when activated. Its grid design is meant to allow for air circulation and prevent excess heat buildup. The Smartduvet even has a smart attach system so that users can attach their duvet to their sheets to keep them properly in place.

While this design likely appeals to those among us who just hate making our beds or simply just don’t have the time, it does have some actual merit. The elderly or people with disabilities may face real challenges when it comes to making their beds. Elderly folks who are particularly at risk for falls could definitely benefit from the ease of a self making bed.

The project is currently on Kickstarter and has raised about $5,000 of it’s $22,000 goal. A set serving a queen-sized bed set will cost about $289 on Kickstarter, saving you forty percent off the retail price. The set includes the Smartduvet, along with the air pump, a standard duvet, and a cover. The company is expecting to start shipping product in May 2017.

Topics

Anthony Thurston

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Anthony is an internationally published photographer based in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Specializing primarily in…

Smart Home

7 things you didn’t know your smart thermostat could do

Ecobee smart thermostat installed on wall next to woman walking down stairs.

At their core, smart thermostats can learn about when you're coming and going and adjust the temperature automatically. Over time, however, smart thermostats have leveraged their intelligence to do some interesting things well beyond that basic mission. Let's dig into some of the more obscure features we're seeing in the latest smart thermostats. Who knows? Maybe you'll learn something you didn't know your own smart thermostat could do.
Adjust for sun exposure
If your thermostat is exposed to sunlight, it can skew the ambient temperature reading. The little spot the thermostat inhabits could be a fair bit warmer than the rest of the home. This means either heating could be prevented from turning on automatically, cooling will be prematurely activated, or the overall data on your home's heating and cooling status will be inaccurate.

Some manufacturers, like Nest, have built in a feature that counteracts this artificial spike in temperature reading. Since many smart thermostats have light sensors to automatically adjust the display brightness, they can also be used to see if there's an overlap between when brightness increases and when an abnormal spike in temperature is read. Once it figures out how much the temperature increases in that span of time, it can automatically reduce the reading to get something more accurate for the rest of the house.
Talk to voice assistants

Smart Home

Don’t believe the marketing! Robot chefs aren’t what you think they are

The robot chef arms of the Moley kitchen robot.

There's nothing more disappointing than misleading marketing. You purchased a bottle of the hottest hot sauce because, based on its advertising, you expect it to numb all your senses, only to discover it barely passes as Taco Bell's mild sauce. Maybe you ran out to buy a "wearable air conditioner" because you're sick of sweating through your outdoor workout garb, but find out too late that you invested in nothing more than a glorified cooling neckband.

While I'm no expert on the fine-printed inner workings of the marketing world, I think we can all agree that one of the main goals of any type of marketing, regardless of the brand, service, or event, is to generate awareness and hype. This is more than understandable, as companies should want to lasso in prospective buyers with alluring lingo. But sometimes the hype train is a bit overloaded and can derail expectations when consumers like you and me finally get our hands on the goods or services being hailed.

Smart Home

7 things you didn’t know your home security system could do

SimpliSafe bast station sitting on a table infant of a mirror.

Your home security system is the main line of defense against burglars and unwanted visitors. It can provide peace of mind when you're away, but there are a lot of things your security system can do that you might not be aware of. For example, rather than just catching suspicious activity, it also lets you record your pets being silly for video clips worthy of America's Funniest Videos.

With the right setup, your home security system can extend its functionality far beyond the basics. Here are seven things you didn't know your home security system could do.
Connect to your smart home to disarm the system and turn on the lights
When you come inside, your first step is typically to turn on the lights and/or disarm your security system. You can actually disable your security system with the right key code and connect it to your smart lights so they automatically turn on when you enter the code. You can also connect it to other smart devices like a smart plug to turn on other devices.