Ford uses driver-assist tech to keep bed hogs on their side

Ford is in the automobile business, but the company keep discovering new ways to apply its technology outside of its vehicles. The latest innovation from the car maker is made for the bedroom. Ford repurporsed its driver-assist systems to design a bed that will keep partners on their side of the mattress through the night.

Here's how Ford's bed innovation works: The matress is equipped with pressure sensors that can determine if, at some point during the night, one person crosses over onto their partner's sleeping space. The bed then goes about correcting the encroachment by nudging the intruder back to their side. This is done with an integrated conveyor belt that slides the bed back to place the person back on their side.

The lane-keeping bed isn't something that will be commercially available -- and for good reason, because who would want to sleep on a conveyor belt? However, it does show off the company's car technology in a way that makes it easier to visualize. The same design that makes the bed work also is found in Ford vehicles and can nudge the steering will when it senses the driver has veered too far out of their lane.

While the experiment seems odd, Ford has done similar projects before. It built a noise-cancelling doghouse to show off the audio system in its Edge SUV and made a baby crib that simulates the experience of riding in the backseat of a car.