Clear Day
TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM
Designers at a Tauranga company have the job dreams are made of – searching for a better night’s sleep.
The latest piece of research from design and manufacturing company, Design Mobel, led by company senior designer
Timothy Allan, will lead to a functionally advanced, technologically-based sleep system. In layman’s terms - a better
base, support system and mattress - that could put an end to tossing and turning and thumping pillows, and instead help
ensure the best night’s sleep possible.
Design Mobel knew that to compete in wide-awake international markets they had to develop a complete system that would
move from using unsustainable resources through to substituting them with sustainable and recyclable resources. They
also wanted to develop and own valuable intellectual property that would give a competitive edge in international
markets.
”We felt no-one had really looked at the whole concept of sleep systems from the bottom up, nor worked out a way to
make better use of modern recyclable resources and concepts in full production,” says Timothy Allan.
“We wanted to test out some ideas and we set about searching where the best expertise might be.” That search took the
company to ergonomics specialists and sleep experts, as well as involving the University of Auckland. Forest Research
also became a research partner, developing new materials for use in the sleep system.
The project was assisted by Technology New Zealand, whose funding enabled the company to firstly test the technologies
involved, then continue with the development of the project.
Technology New Zealand also awarded a Technology for Industry Fellowship to Mark van Rij, an engineering graduate from
the University of Canterbury, to begin a research Masterate. Now working alongside the University of Auckland, Mark is
looking at ways of adding value to the Design Mobel product through technology.
His research, several months on, is focussing on providing a simple means of adjustability – a way of refining the rake
and pitch of a bed for ultimate comfort whether sitting or lying down.
The outcome of the various components of the research, according to Timothy Allan, is being held very close to the
corporate chest, but it will help catapult the company into the $US3.3billion pa US bedding market. The European market,
which is more philosophically related to Design Mobel’s slat support system, is also expected to be highly receptive.
“It has been a real balancing act,” he says. “We’ve had to measure subjective comfort (what’s regarded as a ‘good’ bed
by someone will be a nightmare for someone else) and maintain ergonomic integrity. We looked at using a variety of
different materials in different ways to come up with something that would provide the best support possible.”
The research project was initiated within Design Mobel as a means of growing its business through new technology.
Timothy Allan says the company’s product designers try to use technology that enables designers to speed up the process
of concept to market, whether in solid modelling or rapid prototyping.
“As the person responsible for R at Design Mobel, it is a great thing to be able to tell your Managing Director that we can get the project onto the
fast track. And, even better, that we can get funding through Technology New Zealand and support for a Technology for
Industry Fellow to bring in new expertise.
“From a product designer’s perspective, it has allowed me to get another skill set into the company,” he says. “ It’s
important for a company to have a pro-development philosophy and in Design Mobel that comes right from the top down. We
found the Technology New Zealand connection to be very helpful, as was our association with those at Forest Research
such as Armando Macdonald and George Hooper.”
Tony Hadfield, at the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, says Design Mobel’s approach to a technical
hurdle is a classic step-by-step process. “First of all they tested out the technical feasibility and we supported them
with a very small amount of funding. From that, they went on to an investment through the Technology for Business Growth
scheme and we also supported Mark van Rij’s involvement in the research initiative with a Technology for Industry
Fellowship.
“This type of practical, step by step approach sets a good basis for overcoming large technological hurdles by breaking
them down into bite-sized chunks.”
Timothy Allan agrees: “this project represents the great value to a company having design interacting with science and
research-related fields at an early stage. We’ve been able to create original solutions to problems with a minimum of
backtracking.”
Design Mobel now has a sleep system that combines the approaches of ergonomics and clinical sleep measurement with New
Zealand material innovation, and the results should be on the market next year. The 11-year-old, privately owned company
is expecting to develop relationships in the more sophisticated international markets, particularly in Europe as well as
the US in the next year upon completion of the product
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