tech planet

Sunday 21 October 2012

Painter robot turns your sleep into 'art


(Credit: Video screenshot by Tim Hornyak/CNET )
Last time I stayed at an Ibis hotel, I had a good experience. Quick service, decent decor, and a great location in central Busan, South Korea. Sadly, it lacked a robot.
The international chain is making up for this shortcoming by offering something no guest can do without: a robot that paints your sleep patterns.
In a decidedly wacky PR stunt being held in Paris, Berlin, and London, Ibis commissioned a robot arm to turn select guests' sleep data into painted canvases.
The Sleep Art project involves an ABB industrial robot and a special mattress equipped with 80 sensors.

Some canvases recall the geometric doodlings of a Spirograph. Some look like light trails made by fireflies.
Throughout the night, sensors pick up data on a sleeper's movements, temperature, and sounds. Algorithms translate them into brushstrokes using a palette of four colors.
I wonder if snoring translates into abstract expressionism.
It took 100 people six months to produce the sleep artist, and it runs on 50,000 lines of code, according to Ibis, which is owned by France-based Accor.
If you want to sign up for the chance to have your sleep painted by the machine, check out the Berlin and London event dates here.
Just don't have any nightmares about robots.

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