Are you getting enough sleep? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 25 percent of Americans have sleep issues. Cambridge Sound Management may have an answer for some of those people in the form of its new Nightingale smart home sleep system, a Kickstarter campaign for which launched today.
Nightingale consists of two units that plug into the wall in a room. Each unit has two speakers. The separate units work in tandem to “blanket” the room with customizable sound that masks indoor and outdoor noises which might otherwise disturb your sleep. Each unit has dual passthrough wall plugs and can function when installed anywhere in the room, even behind furniture. No batteries are required.
The Nightingale’s uniform, evenly distributed sound coverage — aptly described as a “blanket” — is aimed squarely at helping you stay asleep.
Because your brain cannot tell where the Nightingale sound is coming from, it won’t establish space or direction. You won’t have an “I’m on this side of the room, and that box over there is hissing at me” experience. Because you can’t discern the source, the sound more easily “blends” into the background.
The Nightingale units have built-in LED night lights. The light color choice and intensity can be controlled by an accompanying iOS or Android app. The smartphone app also lets you choose from 15 separate sound-masking variations and several nature sounds. You’ll likely want to try all the sounds, masking variations, and sound intensities to find which work best for you.
In addition to smartphone control, you can also integrate Nightingale into major smart home systems including Amazon Alexa, Nest, and Ring via If This Then That (IFTTT) scripts. Multiple Nightingale sets can aldo be controlled from one device. With IFTTT scripting in a smart home, you can also set up Nightingale to announce news, weather, and traffic alerts, and updates.
According to the Nightingale Kickstarter campaign, Cambridge Sound Management has working prototypes and a manufacturing partner in China. The Kickstarter campaign’s purpose is to raise funds to build the mass production plan and distribution. Nightingale smart home sleep systems are scheduled to start shipping in February 2017.