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Netflix Smart Socks Know When You Doze Off

Netflix Smart Socks are a do-it-yourself wonder that can tell when you've dozed off, and Netflix just keeps streaming and streaming.


(Netflix Smart Socks)

We’ve based our sleep detection system on a popular method called actigraphy. An accelerometer detects when you’ve stopped moving for a prolonged period of time and triggers a signal to your TV that pauses Netflix. When it detects that you’ve dozed off, an LED light in the cuff of the sock flashes red, warning that the pause signal is about to be sent to your TV. Any motion will stop it from firing.

The accelerometer is very sensitive to little movements, so it’s good at detecting when you’re just sitting still, raptly watching Netflix, and when you’ve actually fallen asleep. However, there are ways to increase your socks’ accuracy...

I've often felt that there must be some way to improve my socks' accuracy...

Of course this idea was anticipated fifty years ago by science fiction writers; we fans have been waiting patiently. In his 1961 novel Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein mentioned a similar device, used by people who read in bed. The pages of the book "spool" were projected on the ceiling - but what happened if the user fell asleep?

Jill decided that she would probably not oversleep, crawled into bed, slid the spool into the reading machine, lay back and scanned the words streaming across the ceiling. Presently the speed control slipped out of her relaxed fingers, the lights went out and she slept.
(Read more about Robert Heinlein's reading machine)

Instructions for creating your own Netflix smart socks; you're probably too late for this Christmas, unless you knit like crazy.

Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 12/13/2015)

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