UK scientists invent pillow cases that warn deaf sleepers of fires and burglars

UK scientists have created a vibrating, smart pillow sleeve that wakes sleeping deaf people to fires - and warns them when their burglar alarm goes off. Nottingham Trent University (NTU) scientists developed it with members of the deaf community, with smart textile technology replaces older and more uncomfortable bulky gadgets currently kept under pillows.

The sleeve is slipped over a standard size pillow and placed inside a normal pillow case, with the sensors at the bottom when positioned on the bed. The electronics are connected to a smartphone, via a microcontroller, which could be wirelessly connected to household alarms and use different vibration pulses to indicate between fire alarms, burglar alarms and phone calls.

PhD researcher Malindu Ehelagasthenna, who developed the sleeve as part of his doctoral studies at the Nottingham School of Art & Design, said: "This was born out of feedback from user groups we worked with in the deaf community who told us that they can’t sleep well with bulky items under their pillows.

"The electronics we have embedded in the yarns of the sleeve are so tiny that they cannot be felt by the users, but when an alarm sounds they can be made to vibrate intensely in order to wake even the most heavy sleepers."

The design is centred on a thin, flexible, electronic textile sleeve which features four tiny haptic actuators - measuring 3.4 mm by 12.7 mm - that are encapsulated and embedded within a yarn-like structure.

Haptic actuators convert electrical signals into tactile sensations like vibrations - similar to what you get on vibrating games console controllers.

The yarn used in the sleeve has passed rigorous durability tests including multiple washing cycles to ensure real-world resilience.

The research team are now working to develop the prototype further and seek an industrial partner who would be interested in taking the product to market.

The study was presented at the Association for Computing Machinery CHI conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona on Monday 13th April.

The work was co-authored by Malindu Ehelagasthenna, Lars Erik Holmquist, Carlos Oliveira, Arash M. Shahidi, Pasindu Lugoda and Theo Hughes-Riley.

Dr Theo Hughes-Riley, an associate professor in NTU’s Advanced Textiles Research Group (ATRG) who supervised the research, said: "This smart design represents a significant step toward inclusive emergency alert systems, allowing deaf and deafblind individuals to sleep more safely — and with greater peace of mind and comfort.

"It has been an entirely user-led development, stemming from feedback from the Deaf community, who told us exactly what kind of real world challenges they face which might be solved with electronic textiles."