Ford Invented a Mattress That Keeps Bed Hogs on Their Side, and Just Sign Me Right Up

If you've ever woken up in the middle of the night because your partner subconsciously maneuvered his or her way onto your side of the bed, there might just be a solution that doesn't involve you violently shoving a human being while whispering expletives about your pilfered REM cycle.

Ford (yes, the motor company) has used its car-making technology to create a "lane-keeping" smart bed to avoid this cosleeping conundrum once and for all, even with "the most selfish bedmate."

The bed is essentially an "infinite mattress" similar to a treadmill that has pressure sensors to track the position of the people in bed. If one person pushes their partner to the edge of the bed, the distributed sensors engage electric motors that then gently move whoever is sleeping on it back toward the centre.

The concept was inspired by Ford's new Lane-Keeping Aid that, according to Ford Europe, "actively supports the driver to safely guide the vehicle back into the correct lane by 'nudging' the steering wheel in the correct direction."

As genius as the idea is, that's all it looks to become at this point. The bed is just a prototype, one of several conceptual "interventions" — they've also invented a noise-canceling dog house for animals afraid of thunderstorms and a crib designed to simulate a car ride to lull babies back to sleep — created to show how automotive expertise can be applied to tackle everyday problems.

We imagine, however, if they do opt to mass-produce this bed, they'll make better-than-car money off sleep-deprived consumers — particularly those who often find themselves hanging on the edge of a mattress every night.