BED|FRAME Matthew Bozeman | ITGM 705 | Exercise 2 | Professor David Meyers | January 25, 2011

BED|FRAME

Bed|Frame is an interactive digital artifact engineered to integrate into any

bedside environment. Simply put, it is a beside alarm clock,but it contains a host of other

important features. What sets this design apart from its contemporaries is how it integrates such a

wide range of functionality into a single, unassuming package.

What society thinks of as the clock radio is nothing new. The idea of mashing an analog

clock together with an AM radio was put into production decades ago. Ever since then, features

have been added piecemeal. FM radio, CD players, various inputs and outputs, the ability to set

multiple alarms, etc. And though there are many designs out there, all of them scream ‘clock

radio’.

Why should you have to have a large clock radio next to your bed to facilitate waking up

in the morning? Though many existing devices offer iPod integration and produce good sound,

they are unnecessarily large. It would be a much better experience to have the device blend with

the rest of the space, and not stick out. To this end, Bed|Frame takes the form of a black digital

picture frame, not unlike the current digital photo frames on the market.

Bed|Frame contains all of the requisite functionality, and then some. There is a clock, and

AM/FM/Weather Radio. There is a CD player. There is an SD card slot for playing photos and

music. There is a USB port also for photos and music, but more importantly, for integrating and

charging external devices. In place of the typical limited LED screen would be a full-color LCD

display. In addition, there is the usual complement of input buttons as well as audio in and out

functionality.

Where Bed|Frame really begins to set itself apart from the competition is with the

multiple ways the user can interact with it. It has several unconventional input methods. An

ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the display. While there are already units on the

market that allow users to dim the brightness manually, not many adjust the display to the

optimum level automatically.

Bed|Frame also employs a Bluetooth radio to allow it to connect to smartphones or other

enabled devices. The Bluetooth connection facilitates two-way data transmission, allowing the

phone to perform functions like sending music to the device, and lets Bed|Frame receive simple

content like the day’s weather.

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A microphone located on the front of the device offers users the ability to give voice

commands and take calls on their connected smartphone. Bed|Frame natively supports specific

voice commands, and has the ability to add new custom commands via its companion

application. A particularly useful example of a voice command is the ability to instruct Bed|

Frame to “Sleep” without having to fumble for some sort of physical button.

In addition to the on-device and voice controls, the user is also able to control the device

via an application on a smartphone. Native applications for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry

allow the user to control all functions of the device without the need to physically touch it.

Compatible devices could be paired either via the Bluetooth connection or the built-in USB port.

In summary, Bed|Frame is a sleek connected device that easily integrates with its

surroundings, while still providing the user with a loads of capability behind a unique interface.

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