CONTEXT
Getting a good rest while sitting during long hours of travel, especially in flights, is challenging. Also a stiff neck or tired shoulders, which are a consequence of sleeping in the wrong position, has troubled almost everyone. NEEND, is much more than your average travel pillow. It’s an intelligent travel sleeping assistant that lets you have a peaceful sleep in flights, trains and bus journeys. Using the controlled inflation pressure on different sides, NEEND supports your neck and gradually tilts your head to change sleeping posture, without disturbing your sleep.
The concept won an Honourable Mention in the Product Concept Category at the RED DOT Design Awards 2015
CONCEPT
NEEND is like a compact collar in its deflated state, not taking up much space in your cabin luggage. Once powered on, it automatically inflates when you power it on to optimally support your head and neck. Pressure sensors under the fabric layer sense the pressure against the skin, hence inflate according the size of the person’s neck.
It houses all the electronics for inflation in a pocket at the base of the device including the miniature pneumatic pump and valves, the actuator, sensors and the battery. Air intake is through a valve at the base and channels it into the airbags. The air bags consist of a double layer: an inner puncture-proof elastomer and outer soft lycra material. It will sense through pressure sensors, if one has slept in the wrong posture and give a mild haptic feedback to straighten your neck.
There is an Active Noise Control mechanism right under the ears, which cancels out the background noise of the flight or the vehicle, through emitting sound waves in a pattern counter to the vibrations caused by the ambient noise. This lets you sleep through the background noise yet listen to any flight announcements or the flight crew talking to you.