
Sleep Cycle aware Alarm Clock App using iPhone Accelerometer - Hopka
http://www.lexwarelabs.com/sleepcycle/
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stingraycharles
I'm using this application for a few weeks now. The application needs to be
calibrated for the first few days, but after that it works really well. I'm
pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the application and the ease of use.
The low price ($0.99) makes it easy to try it out too, so if you care about
these kind of things, I can recommend it.

One thing I've noticed is that in your sleep, you're sometimes rolling over
while being "half awake": you wouldn't remember it if you would fall back
asleep, but if you're inside the specific timeframe you've set your alarm to,
this application will wake you up, and you indeed do feel more fresh than
coming out of a deep sleep.

And the charts are nice too.

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pilif
Just have a look at their FAQ to see how badly apple's closed development
model hurts applications all over the place. For this application to really
work, there's a huge list of precautions you have to take and most of them are
based on the fact that third-party apps don't enjoy the same API as the apple
based ones do.

The app doesn't work if you lock the phone, the app doesn't support the iPod
Touch, the phone needs to be connected to power because there's no concept of
different (hardware) sleep states.

And of course, the app would not wake you up if you were to get a phone call
or SMS during the night.

Most of these limitations would go away on open hardware with an open SDK.

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alexro
How long before mattresses with the built-in accelerometers start producing? I
actually don't move that much, so for it'd be safer bet to have the
accelerometers in many places.

~~~
est
Smart Mattresses™

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param
Looking at the screenshots, it seems that you place your phone at one corner
of your bed as you sleep. I am surprised that this would work. Does anyone
here have an opinion? There are quite a few critical reviews that say it
doesn't.

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brown9-2
I'm curious if anyone knows how this type of solution would work if there is
more than one person sleeping in your bed.

Wouldn't two people in the same bed be pretty likely to not have synchronized
sleep cycles? Or would they be synchronized? Anyone know about this?

~~~
stingraycharles
From the FAQ:

"How well does Sleep Cycle work with 2 people sharing a bed?

Our experience is that it works very well. Normally your body will "block" the
movement of the other person and the iPhone will not detect that movement. You
can test this yourself by using the test function in Sleep Cycle."

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bioweek
How did they figure out how to make this, e.g., what movements constitute
different sleep states? Are there research papers on this?

I wonder if you could use changes in body temperature instead? (Obviously not
using an iPhone though.)

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eru
There are some papers about it. Look at the discussion for the wakemate, a
month ago or so.

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adamhowell
I'm guessing, since I sleep in the same bed as my wife and my daughter's new
puppy, that this would have no chance of working with me.

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nixy
What happens if I get an e-mail or sms during the night? Will the vibrator
cause the app to think I am awake?

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mtrimpe
It doesn't work with Tempura mattresses though, which I have. I haven't felt
so cheated in a long while ...

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nanexcool
I'm waiting for WakeMate.

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eli
Aww, I was hoping you strap it to your head

