Young inventor's pillow unites parted lovers and wins entrepreneur prize

BEING in a long distance relationship is never easy.

But an Edinburgh-based graduate believes she may have come up with the perfect solution to help couples living apart feel that little bit closer - an interactive pillow case that lets partners hear the heartbeat of their beloved.

Joanna Montgomery, whose business idea became an overnight internet phenomenon, recently scooped a major award for her invention.

The 23-year-old from South Queensferry won the prestigious Shell LiveWIRE Grand Idea award worth 1000 to help develop her interactive pillow case.

The award will allow her to develop her product, Pillow Talk, which aims to connect couples in long distance relationships through sensor rings worn in bed at night and a panel which slots inside their pillow cases.

The sensors pick up heartbeats and wirelessly transmit them via smartphone applications on a mobile phone to the other person's pillow.

Joanna, herself in a long distance relationship, came up with the idea as part of her final year degree project at Dundee University in 2010.

The Digital Interaction Design graduate said: "Each person has a sensor ring, that they wear to bed, and a fabric panel which goes inside their pillow case.

"The sensor picks up your heartbeat and wirelessly transmits it to the other person's pillow via bluetooth on your mobile phone, so when you put your head on your own pillow, you hear your partner's heart beating."

The fabric panel contains two small flat speakers and a rechargeable battery, and lights up when the other person's head touches their pillow.

Joanna added: "When I saw the number of views of my video on YouTube rapidly increasing, read a review of Pillow Talk in a technology blog, and watched my e-mail inbox filling up with requests to buy Pillow Talk, I realised I'd come up with an idea that had commercial potential.

"As I plan to start selling before Valentine's Day 2012, the 1000 award will allow me to put the online shop in place on my website, and also to cover the cost of producing a few units for user testing."

Joanna set up her own online design business, Little Riot, from her South Queensferry home in September last year after graduating in June.

Joanna's boyfriend John McKee, 25, works as an electro-technical officer on an oil tanker in the North Sea, and is away from home for six weeks at a time, which was partly the source of Joanna's inspiration for Pillow Talk.

But she added: "I don't think he will be taking Pillow Talk off to his manly oil tanker any time soon!"

Joanna has also earned the chance of reaching the final of the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

She, along with other Grand Ideas award winners, will be assessed by a panel of expert judges later this year.

Joanna said: "I never really saw any of this coming. I assumed I would graduate and get a job but instead I have ended up with my own company, which is much more exciting!"