This document summarizes a project called SleepScape, which aims to develop an adaptive blanket that monitors a user's sleep states and habits over time. The blanket would contain sensors to track temperature, movement, and posture. It would use electro-active polymers and muscle wires in a flexible mesh to allow for shape-changing capabilities activated by electrical impulses. This would allow the blanket to subtly adjust its position and airflow to regulate the user's body temperature as needed during sleep based on patterns it learns over time.

1. Abstract (Kristin Osiecki)
We spend roughly one-third of our lives sleeping,
yet the technology that supports this daily necessity
has evolved very little over time.The vast and var-
ied technologies we interact with during our wak-
ing hours have evolved significantly, improving our
daily lives and expanding our capabilities. While the
communication devices and vehicles we use each day
would be unrecognizable to people who lived just
two-hundred years ago, the beds and blankets we
use would be familiar to people who lived thousands
of years ago, both in the materials they are made of
and their capabilities.
Introduction
SleepScape seeks to improve your sleep experience
by learning your habits and adapting to them over
time. Perhaps you are cold when you first get in bed
each night, but wake up overheated a few hours later.
SleepScape can increase airflow, or adjust its position
to help regulate your body temperature. It can com-
fort you when you are restless by hugging your body
or gently wake you in the morning by nudging you.
We’ve also imagined extended capabilities, like
dream monitoring and interpretation.
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SleepScape: monitors your sleep states and
learns your habits, adjusting to you over time
Yanjun Lyu
MassArt
ylv@massart.edu
Kristin Osiecki
Harvard
kosiecki@alumni.risd.edu
Wei Xu
MassArt
wxu@massart.edu
Hongliang Wang
MIT:Visiting Scholar
hl_w2016@mit.edu

2. Author Keywords
Tangible Interface, e-textile, muscle wire
How it works
SleepScape is a blanket that contains a flexible mesh
of electro-active polymers/muscle wires. Embedded
in this mesh are sensors that track the users tem-
perature as well as the ambient temperature in the
room. It also contains accelerometers, proximity
sensors and pressure sensors, to gather information
about the user’s movement and posture, relative to
the blanket.All of these can be tracked specific to
different areas of the grid.
Shape-changing capabilities are activated by electrical
impulse.The network of muscle wire is strategically
activated in order to produce movement. Different
areas gradually contract or expand, allowing for pur-
poseful, yet subtle movements, like the blanket rolling
off the user when he/she is too hot.
Over time, the blanket learns things like the user’s
optimum sleep temperature, and will regulate this by
acting before the user has become too hot or too
cold.
Project Abstract: SleepScape

3. Prototype (Yanjun Lyu)
To explore the concept of shape-changing and the
particular shapes for each scenario that we imag-
ined before, we made a grid with muscle wires.The
properties of the wire are flexible, and convenience,
which forms different structure.The temperature
sensor can install at the cross point of each wire,
then the sensor receives data, and send data to
various motors, which triggers the shape changing
through the wire connected. However, this is just
our an initial hypothesis; we still don’t know how it is
going to be work in real world. Bascily, the grid with
wires that we made is 5*5 gridlines, 35 points.Thus,
every five cross point can make up a particular form.
Project Abstract: SleepScape

4. Research (Wei Xu)
We wanted to make a blanket that could react to
users’ reactions, depending on the data it
collected. In order to make a blanket to change
shape by itself, we researched technology about
fabric.
In recent years the ideas of natural chemical textile
and microfibers were introduced into the textile
industry. For our project, carbon is a potential choice,
because it has qualities such as strength, dour ab-
sorption, fatigue resistance, vibration absorption and
electrical conductivity.[1]
Project Abstract: SleepScape
These features may support our ideas of controlling
the change fabric with electronic signals.To conduct
electricity and send signals we may think about the
way of material composites. Material composites
mean to combine two or more materials in form or
composition and make new materials. It is another
way people try to expand the ability of fabrics.Tec-
Knit launched allow current heating system made
of integrated metal fabric using copper and nickel,
which showed people the capability of a materi-
al-blending fabric.[1]
Furthermore, CAD and a 3D printer allow people
have more ability to have three dimensional
weave patterns and non-wovens.[1]The project “Cill-
lia” uses friction to connect two cube units
with non woven hairs.[2]This gave us space to think
about the feature of geometric units, and
how to use them to make shape changing.
For potential input, we got inspiration from the proj-
ect “BioLogic.”The project introduced us to
how people’s temperature can interact with fabric.
[3]As our output, the project “Origami Robot”
shows the way a flat robot folds.
Figure 1: Different Weave Patterns
Figure 2: Create A Shape for A Unit
Figure 3: blend different materials together

5. Extended Applications (Hongliang Wang)
As we all known, dream world is intangible and
invisible.We want to use some kinds of materials like
fiber or polymer to express what kinds of dream
look like.
What kinds of technology could potentially
work? Hydrogel maybe the better material to reflect
the brainwaves of dream. Because the hydrogel can
be easy to reflect the shape changing of brainwave.
Usually a helmet is an easy way to catch the delicate
change of brainwave but it perhaps makes person
feel uncomfortable. So we want to choose the hair
as the conductor as for how it works we still need
do more research.
Would it respond to brainwaves?
Some sensors like temperature or pressure can
reflect the changing of brainwaves. Some amplifiers
can be used to amplify the brainwave so as to get an
obvious changing of the material.
How would it read these?
Biotechnology can help us to find a way to convey
the electronic signal of brainwave through the hair.
The hydrogel forms shape changing which can be
activated by the changing of electricity current. Finally
it will transform the brainwave signal to be a kind of
abstract sculpture or painting.
Project Abstract: SleepScape

6. References (Wei Xu)
[1] Clarke, Sarah E. Braddock., and Marie O’Mahony.
TechnoTextiles 2. NewYork:Thames &
Hudson, 2006. Print.
[2] Ou, Jifei, Gershon Dublon, Chin-Yi Cheng, Felix
Heibeck, Karl Willis, and Hiroshi Ishii.
“Cilllia.” Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on
Human Factors in Computing Systems -
CHI ‘16 (2016): n. pag.Web.
[3]Yao, Lining, Jifei Ou, Chin-Yi Cheng, Helene Stein-
er,Wen Wang, Guanyun Wang, and
Hiroshi Ishii.“BioLogic.” Proceedings of the 33rd An-
nual ACM Conference on Human Factors in
Computing Systems - CHI ‘15 (2015): n. pag.Web.
[4] Miyashita, Shuhei, Steven Guitron, KazuhiroYoshi-
da, Shuguang Li, Dana D. Damian, and
Daniela Rus.“Ingestible, Controllable, and Degradable
Origami Robot for Patching Stomach
Wounds.” 2016 IEEE International Conference on
Robotics and Automation (ICRA) (2016): n.
pag.Web.
Project Abstract: SleepScape