An eye-tracking sleep mask for at-home sleep monitoring 
CategoriesSustainable News

An eye-tracking sleep mask for at-home sleep monitoring 

Spotted: In the United States, 70 per cent of adults report having at least one insufficient sleep per month, with 11 per cent having this problem nightly. With much of our sleep being a mystery to researchers, people often find themselves unsure how to doze off problem-free. Hoping to undercover these mysteries is Washington-based Somalytics with its SomaSleep sleep mask. The revolutionary mask uses eye-tracking movement in an in-home environment to detect what hurdles block someone from better sleep.  

Eye movements happen at every sleep stage, but they can be interrupted by stress, injury, disease, medications, and alcohol, resulting in tiredness. SomaSleep can track and classify all eye movements in both closed and open eyes, during sleep or whilst awake. The new technology, therefore, enables users to understand their sleep patterns and explain fatigue in ground-breaking ways.   

As Barbara Barclay, the CEO of Somalytics, explains: “sleep problems affect the lives of billions of people, and understanding the quality of sleep is at the heart of the solution. REM (Rapid Eye Movement) is critical for learning and memory (…) until now, the only option to track REM was through sleep centres, where data is typically manually interpreted. With SomaSleep, we are enabling consumers to track all stages of sleep, including REM, in the comfort of and privacy of their own home through a lightweight, easy to use sleep mask.” 

By December 2023, SomaSleep is expected to be available for consumer purchase for $199 (around €183).  

Springwise has previously spotted other innovations aimed at bettering our sleep, including an app that helps you fall asleep, and a technology that makes beds automatically adjust to provide users with an optimal night’s sleep. 

Written By: Georgia King

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A new design for at-home wind turbines
CategoriesSustainable News

A new design for at-home wind turbines

Spotted: For homeowners looking to power their house with renewable energy, wind power offers a more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to solar panels. But while solar panels on domestic homes are an increasingly common sight in urban and suburban areas, far fewer houses are installed with wind turbines.

To reverse this situation, UK engineer Joe Garrett has developed the AuraGen – a new vertical axis wind turbine designed to be mounted on homes and commercial buildings. The AuraGen’s unique design aims to minimise a phenomenon called ‘dynamic stall’ where factors such as wind shear and turbulence place a heavy load on turbine blades – reducing their lifespan. Moreover, the design is simple—reducing maintenance requirements—and offers good power performance.

The new turbine is omni-directional, which means it works no matter which way the wind is blowing, and the technology is tailored to work most effectively on pitched roofs. In fact, the shape of the roof enhances the turbine’s performance, acting like an aerofoil to increase the velocity of air going through the turbine.

A frame is used to directly attach the turbine to the roof. This is an important benefit as, by using the height of the house, the design does not require a tall support structure. This increases stability, meaning that the turbine itself can be wider, leading to greater power generation.

Compared to solar panels, wind turbines have a much higher power density and can operate at night. This latter point means that the AuraGen could potentially be used to charge electric vehicles overnight.

The idea for the AuraGen came to Garrett as a teenager when he worked on scaffolding and rooftops with his dad. He told Springwise that his experiences working in the wind stuck with him and gave him the idea for a roof-mounted wind turbine. Thanks to the AuraGen design, Garrett received recognition as a winner of this year’s UK Young Innovators Awards.

The AuraGen is not the only domestic wind power solution spotted by Springwise. Another designer has developed a wind turbine ‘wall’ that can be tailored to the aesthetic of each home.  Springwise has also spotted a portable wind turbine weighing only 10 kilogrammes.

Written By: Matthew Hempstead

Website: ktn-uk.org/programme/young-innovators/

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