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snugMellow
Duration
May 2023 - October 2023
5 months
Role
UI/UX Designer
Product Design
Team
Solo Project
End-to-end design

Key Responsibilities

User Research
Wireframing
Visual Design
Prototyping
User Testing
Illustration
User Flow Design
Feedback Analysis

SnugMellow is a smart pillow that uses AI voice system to help users sleep better. We provide a personalized sleep experience for users. Users can customize the pillow to their preferences. We relieve users' anxiety and stress by providing a soothing sleep environment.

Key Achievements

/ 1

Designed the initial user interface for SnugMellow, focusing on creating an intuitive and user-friendly experience. Collaborated closely with developers to ensure the successful delivery of the first edition, aligning the design with technical requirements.

/ 2

Identified project requirements and collaborated with the team to define the project scope, goals, and objectives. Developed a detailed project plan, including timelines, resources, and milestones, ensuring alignment with the overall project goals.

/ 3

Conducted technical research including embedded electronic components, and LLM integration. Corporate with team member on technical challenges, and provided technical support for the project.

01.

OVERVIEW

?

PROBLEM

Insomnia affects millions worldwide. Current sleep solutions focus on medication or generic white noise, lacking personalized, AI-driven approaches to address individual sleep patterns.

★

GOAL

Design a smart pillow with trained AI system to solve or reduce insomnia through personalized sound stimulation tailored to individual sleep patterns.

→

IMPACT

Improved sleep quality through intelligent, adaptive sound therapy that learns and responds to user sleep patterns without medication dependence.

Problem & Solution

The Problem

1/3 Adults worldwide experience insomnia symptoms
10% Diagnosed with insomnia disorder
50% Insomnia cases caused by mental health issues

Insomnia can lead to severe consequences including alcohol abuse, anxiety, and fear of sleeping. The intricate relationship between sleep disorders and mental health creates a cycle that, without proper intervention, can progressively worsen over time.

Our Solution

Smart Pillow + AI Voice System

We're developing an innovative solution that combines:

  • Advanced smart pillow technology
  • AI-powered voice interaction system
  • Psychological healing framework
  • Real-time sleep monitoring
  • Personalized therapy interventions
02.

MARKET RESEARCH

Market Research

market
According to the data from Grand View Research and Data Bridge Market Research, there is a great demand for smart pillows both in the current U.S. and worldwide market. The need for smart pillows is shown to be rising positively in the charts, And it is estimated that the demand will continue to grow in the future. As for the United States, the market share for smart pillows in 2023 has already reached USD 654.7 million, an increase of 21.09% compared to USD 540.66 million in 2019. It is expected to reach USD 2376.9 million by 2030, representing a significant growth.

Market Analysis

Current market offers various smart pillows with different approaches to improving sleep quality. Here's how they compare:

MoonPod

MoonPod

Strengths
  • Zero-gravity feel
  • Ergonomic design
  • High-density beads
  • Reduces anxiety
Limitations
  • Limited portability
  • High price point
  • No smart features
  • Takes time to adjust
Avantree Slumber

Avantree Slumber

Strengths
  • Built-in speakers
  • Bluetooth connectivity
  • Comfortable design
  • Long battery life
Limitations
  • Battery needs charging
  • Limited sound quality
  • No sleep tracking
  • Basic functionality
Nitetronic

Nitetronic

Strengths
  • Anti-snoring technology
  • Sleep tracking
  • Smart adjustments
  • App integration
Limitations
  • Expensive solution
  • Complex setup
  • Requires app usage
  • Limited comfort focus

Innovation Opportunities

AI Integration

Advanced AI-powered voice interaction system that learns user preferences and adapts to individual sleep patterns. Features include:

  • Personalized sleep coaching
  • Voice-activated controls
  • Adaptive comfort settings

Mental Health Support

Integrated psychological support system designed to help users manage stress and anxiety:

  • Guided meditation sessions
  • Breathing exercises
  • Sleep hygiene coaching

Smart Analytics

Comprehensive sleep tracking and analysis system providing actionable insights:

  • Sleep quality monitoring
  • Pattern recognition
  • Health recommendations
03.

USER RESEARCH

User Research

Primary Research

01

Understanding pain points and obstacles faced by people with insomnia issues

02

Gathering data through sleep quality surveys and technology reception

03

Analyzing sleep patterns and alternative solutions for insomnia

04

Studying sleep habits of people with anxiety and ADHD

05

Collecting feedback on existing sleep solutions and AI product reception

Key Findings

Impact

Major impacts of insomnia on daily life and well-being

Tech

Experience with electronic sleep improvement products

Solutions

Alternative approaches to addressing insomnia and anxiety

Mental

Connection between anxiety, ADHD, and sleep patterns

AI

User reception and benefits of AI integration in daily life

Participant Character

Total 25 participants

Participant Character

Personas

Thanks to the participants who spent time joining my research, I created two user personas based on the contribution of these participants' interview answers.

Jane

Jane

Student

I'm having trouble to sleep and I couldn't focus on my study

Phillip

Phillip

Software Engineer

Long time sitting in front of the computer makes my back and neck painful, I need a way to help me relieve the pain while sleeping

Empathy Map

SAYS

  • “...I always struggle at when I stay up late at night, and the very next day I’m easily felt tired...”
  • “I have been tried many ways to deal with my insomnia, including taking melatonin tablets for a long term, although it’s not healthy...”
  • “I have no objection to using AI, I would like to try, I’m curious whether it works or it just sounds fancy...”

THINKS

  • Wants to control her insomnia symptoms ASAP
  • Felt dizzy all the time due to long term insomnia
Jane

DOES

  • Just get her undergraduate degree in Finance, Currently seeking for her first full-time job
  • Always write down next week's task on fridge's sticker in advance.In order to sleep earlier and have a nice sleep quality, she always taking melatonin tablets
  • Has lots of notebooks to jogged down the thing.Sometimes will doing some exercises at the noon.

FEELS

  • Anxiety when talking about her insomnia issues
  • Curious about combine AI with smart pillow
  • worried about whether the project will works for herSad when sharing her thoughts about the bad effects that insomnia brings to her.

SAYS

  • “...I can’t fall in sleep without playing videos, I must need some audio sounds with me when I goes to sleep...”
  • “Waking up suddenly in the middle of the night is very annoying. ...”
  • “I’m very interested about AI, cause my job are related to AI, so I’d definitely interested about the AI pillow ...”I have tried many ways to make myself more concentrated.

THINKS

  • Wants to stop taking Sleep aid medicine before go to sleep
  • Wants a smart calendarWant to find a psychologist, consulting for how to ease his anxiety
  • Don't wants too many fancy functions, just wants simple features on the appWant to have a nice travel after he finished his important tasks next month
Phillip

DOES

  • Visiting doctor in the past for his insomnia, has taking some medicine
  • Always write down next week's task on fridge's sticker in advance.Drunk wine before he goes to sleep, however, the wine made him stay up to the bathroom frequently.
  • Has lots of notebooks to jogged down the thing.Usually playing audio sounds under the pillow to help fall a sleep
  • Working remotely, always working till late due to his insomnia.
  • Sometimes, he will playing with his kids

FEELS

  • Excited when heard AI might have potential to improving insomnia
  • Felt helpless when talking about his road to fight with anxiety, insomnia
  • Happy when talking about his sleep quality being improved after he doing some exercises.

Pain Points

Pain Points

Hypothesis Statement

I propose that developing a smart pillow equipped with an AI psychological coach trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) would be highly beneficial for users experiencing insomnia. Furthermore, integrating connectivity features to access streaming content, such as white noise or sleep-aid audio, would enhance the therapeutic benefits.

04.

IDEATION

Brainstorm

There is some brainstorming ideas that will give opportunities to Snug Mellow

Brainstorm
05.

TECHNICAL DESIGN

Technical Research

Snug Mellow consists of three parts: the pillow, the controller, and the phone app. The pillow is the primary component, followed by the controller, with the phone app providing supplementary control. The pillow is equipped with integrated streaming functions, allowing users to play sleep-aid sounds or other audio while asleep. Additionally, it contains an internal pressure sensor that acts as a motion detector. This sensor monitors the user's sleep quality and adjusts the speaker settings according to the sleep cycle based on the detected data. The controller serves as an interface for the pillow, enabling users to adjust the sounds emitted from the speaker. It also functions as a microphone for interacting with the AI coach. Snug Mellow phone app offers supplementary control in case the controller is unavailable and provides data visualization, enabling users to track and analyze their sleep quality. It also allows users to customize the function of snug mellow according to their preferences.

Below is the hardware technical research of Snug Mellow

Technical Details

Fabric Selection

Bamboo Fabric
Bamboo Fabric
SoftNatural breathableHydrophilicStrong durable
Cotton
Cotton
Luxuriously softHighly breathableHydrophilicLess durable
Silk
Silk
RoughHighly breathableHygroscopicStrong durable
Polyester
Polyester
Slightly scratchyLess breathablePoor hygroscopicVery durable

Internal Components

Talalay Latex
Talalay Latex

Primary filling material offering breathability, softness, and natural vanilla-like fragrance for stress relief.

Memory Foam
Memory Foam

Supplementary layer providing sound absorption, comfort, and adaptive support.

Pillow Structure

Pillow Interior
Key Features
  • Ergonomic design with cervical support
  • Multi-layer construction
  • Integrated speakers and sensors
  • Sound-dampening technology

Smart Technology

Acoustic Fabric
Acoustic Layer

Specialized fabric design for optimal sound reflection and distribution.

Embedded Speakers

Curved design with polycarbonate casing for optimal sound delivery and safety.

Pressure Sensors

Capacitive sensors for sleep quality monitoring and adaptive response.

The Exploration of the Potential of the Controller

The component that we need for the controller is

  • Raspberry Pi - a minicomputer that provides data input and output as the gateway between the controller and the cloud.
  • Power supply - offers power to operate devices.
  • Indicator LEDs - status indicator for devices.
  • Enclosure - protect equipped electronic components in devices.

Why we choose Raspberry Pi?

06.

FINAL DETAILS

How Will AI Help?

In this project, we aim to develop a smart pillow integrated with an AI coach and voice diary function to enhance user sleep quality and relaxation. The pillow will incorporate a Raspberry Pi, which functions as a gateway to receive data from embedded pressure sensors and transmit it to the cloud. The mobile application will send commands to the Raspberry Pi, which will control the speakers embedded within the pillow. For the AI coach functionality, we will primarily utilize the OpenAI API with pre-trained models such as GPT. The model will be fine-tuned with a dataset collected from a diverse group of individuals to ensure accurate and relevant interactions that promote relaxation and sleep. The development process will involve using Python for AI model training, backend integration, and the development of mobile interfaces.

Workflow

When users prepare for sleep and activate the pillow using the remote, it will automatically play a pre-selected lullaby or default audio to help them relax. The Capacitive Pressure Sensor continuously monitors sleep status, detecting when the user has fallen asleep and transmitting the data to the terminal. The terminal analyzes movements, such as how frequently the user turns over, and adjusts audio playback accordingly. Upon waking, users can easily review their sleep quality records via our mobile app.

Exploded View

exploded view