This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this folio. Terms of use.

Dormio

Every time yous go to sleep, you pass through a phase known every bit hypnagogia. This mental state straddles the line between "sleeping" and "awake." Sometimes sleep scientists can't even concur on whether information technology should be classified as a phase of slumber. Hypnagogia has a reputation for promoting creativity and liberty of thought, so researchers from MIT have been investigating techniques to prolong this country. The result is a device called Dormio, and they think it might be able to boost your creativity.

The neurological basis for hypnagogia is still unclear, just you've probably experienced its effects. As you begin to migrate off to sleep, you may not realize you're losing consciousness. In hypnagogia, you lot can experience fleeting hallucinations and micro-dreams that mix with reality. People in this state can conduct on conversations they don't remember, and may non realize they had been unconscious if awoken. Many of history's greatest thinkers take sought to dwell in this phase for every bit long every bit possible in order to gain insight on their work. For example, Edison was reputed to take naps while belongings steel balls. As he fell asleep and entered a hypnagogic state, he'd driblet the brawl on the flooring and wake himself up.

Dormio takes a similar arroyo by giving the sleeper a little nudge as they enter hypnagogia. The first iteration of the device used an electroencephalograph (EEG) on the head and a pressure sensor in a glove. The subject would don the glove and headband, so make a fist earlier going to sleep. The sensors in the EEG and glove would discover when muscles relaxed, and brain waves changed to indicate hypnagogia. At that signal, a nearby Jibo robot would speak a phrase to prime the sleeper to think about a particular idea and tape anything they said. The break too served to keep the test subject from falling into a deeper sleep. The Jibo is not strictly required — it could exist any device capable of sound playback and recording.

The MIT team enlisted a small grouping of volunteers to effort Dormio, and most reported remembering the trigger phrase and resulting images in their dreamy state. The test subjects took a and then-called "Alternative Uses Chore" examination later using Dormio. This is supposed to measure out creativity, but that's inappreciably a simple concept. Nonetheless, five of the vi scored higher than the command.

Dormio is currently on its second hardware iteration, which uses a more precise flexon sensor in the glove. The EEG was swapped for sensors that measure eye rate and animate. The Jibo robot too got the kick, with a smartphone app taking its identify. This version of the apparatus is cheaper and less bulky, which is important if you're trying to snooze. The team already has plans for a third version that will utilise eyelid move to track sleep states. The goal is to make Dormio so cheap and not-invasive that anybody can go a little creativity heave.