Ion's blog

Entering an exam hall totally unprepared or walking the streets naked may soon become nightmares of the past. A Japanese toymaker, which has already brought us cats and dogs that “talk” said yesterday it had developed a gadget enabling people to turn fanciful daydreams into realistic night-time experiences.

Before hitting the futon, all the owners of Yumemi Kobo, or Dream Workshop, have to do is stare at a photograph of what they would like to dream about and then record, in their own words, how the dream is supposed to pan out.

Once users are in the land of nod, the gadget goes to work, combining the voice recording, lights, music and aromas to stimulate sleepers whenever it detects rapid eye movement – a sign that someone is dreaming – and directs their dreams accordingly.

Eight hours later, users are gently awakened by soft lighting and music to ensure that pleasant memories of the night before are not instantly erased.