Ford's Lane-Keeping Bed keeps mattress bogarts on their side

Europe likes taking inspiration from its driver-assist systems and adapting them to tackle problems outside the car. After building an impressive dog kennel, the automaker has turned its attention to mattress hogs.

Ford's Lane-Keeping Bed was built to keep each half of a couple on their respective side of the bed. Pressure sensors determine if one person crosses over the mattress's centerline. When that happens, a set of integrated conveyor belts shifts the whole bed, putting each person back on their respective sides.

The inspiration comes from lane-keep assist, which uses light steering effort to guide a vehicle away from the lines on either side of the road. It's another interesting adaptation of road-car tech outside the car, following in the footsteps of the Quiet Kennel, which uses noise-canceling tech to placate pups during fireworks shows or thunderstorms. And just like the kennel, the Lane-Keeping Bed's design would look right at home in any newish house.

Of course, it's just a concept, so don't expect Ford to bring these into production. But for those of us who are constantly being encroached upon over the course of a good night's sleep, something like this could truly come in handy.

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