A Dundee University design student has dreamt up a product for lonely long-distance lovers a glow-in-the-dark pillow that mimics a partner’s heartbeat.
Joanna Montgomery (22) developed Pillow Talk as her degree show project for Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.
The device is aimed at couples living apart, with each person having a pillow on their bed and a chest sensor that they wear to sleep.
Once activated, the sensor wirelessly communicates to the other person’s pillow, which begins to glow softly to indicate their presence in bed.
By placing their head on the pillow, the person can listen to the real-time heartbeat of their loved one, transmitted through a set of embedded speakers.
The flat electronic panel can be used in any pillow, allowing lovesick couples to use the system on holidays or business trips.
Joanna received a first-class honours for her finished project and, after positive feedback over the course of the show last week, she is looking to take her product further.
She said, “I was studying interaction design and up until now the interaction element of the course has been quite small, so I wanted to find a new way to approach it.
“I decided on the heartbeat as it seemed a good place to start, then I asked myself whose heartbeat would you want to hear?
“Eventually I figured out if you didn’t want to see or hear your own heartbeat, the only other one you’d want to hear would be that of someone you love such as your baby, child or lover.”
She added, “The result is an intimate interaction between two lovers, regardless of the distance between them.”
Joanna wants to put Pillow Talk into commercial production and is seeking backing from technology manufacturers.
She said, “It proved popular at the show, I’ve had over 100,000 hits on YouTube and more than 100 emails from people asking where they can get one.
“I printed 400 cards to hand out but all of mine were gone inside two days.”
For more information visit Joanna’s website.