15 October 2010
£25,000 funding to help Dundee graduate take ‘pillow talk’ to the market
Long-distance lovers will soon be able to feel their partner’s heartbeat as they drift off to sleep thanks to a product designed by a Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design graduate.
Joanna Montgomery’s project ‘Pillow Talk’ proved one of the most popular exhibits at this year’s Dundee Degree Show and she has now received £25,000 to help develop the concept commercially. She was one of twelve finalists in the Competition for Disruptive Solutions, organised by the Government-backed Technology Strategy Board.
The competition aimed to stimulate innovative new ideas in four areas - energy, digital, healthcare and sustainability. All twelve finalists received £25,000 to help take their ideas forward, with Joanna’s project being one of the three top entries in the digital category.
Pillow Talk works by each person wearing a sensor when they go to bed at night. The chest sensor wirelessly communicates with the other person’s pillow so when one person goes to bed, their lover’s pillow begins to glow softly to indicate their presence. Placing your head on the pillow allows you to hear the real-time heartbeat of your loved one.
The result is an intimate interaction between two lovers, regardless of the distance between them.
The judges noted that the concept of 'digital presence' has never before been tackled commercially and that the product can create a new way for people to interact, as well as opening up an entirely new field of communication.
Joanna (23), originally from Edinburgh, has just formed her own company - called Little Riot Ltd - to develop the product and said she was delighted to have won the funding.
'I came across the competition by accident, and so it’s fantastic that I’ve won,' she said. 'The product currently only exists as it did at the Degree Show, ie. as an experience prototype, but I am now subcontracting engineering companies and product designers to develop a fully working prototype, so we’ll take it from there.
'The idea came about because I am interested in creating ways for people to interact in a more subtle way. Technology has become something we actively engage with every day and I wanted my concept to fit in with the user’s life, rather than be added on top of it'.
The twelve finalists were selected from about 550 businesses who submitted two-minute video pitches to the novel funding competition. The twelve businesses presented their ideas to a live audience at the Innovate10 networking and innovation event in London on 12 October.
Joanna graduated with a First Class degree in Interactive Media Design in May.
The programme, operated jointly by DJCAD and the University’s School of Computing is growing in popularity and has changed its name to Digital Interaction Design to more accurately reflect the work being carried out by students on the course.
Notes to editors:
The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the government. Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org.
Joanna Montgomery can be contacted on 07764580831 or mail@joannamontgomery.com.
More information about Little Riot can be found at www.littleriot.co.uk.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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