#018: The Hidden Complexity of Sleep Tech: Power, Comfort, and 8 Hours of Reliability

Coredump Sessions · 26 Nov 2025 · 58m · Episode 19

What this episode covers

Charles Taylor, co-founder of Ozlo Sleep, explains how his team revived Bose’s discontinued Sleepbuds by balancing extreme miniaturization, power efficiency, and firmware-driven reliability. He details the engineering challenges of designing earbuds smaller than AirPods that last 8-10 hours, the critical role of Kickstarter in building a beta community for real-world testing, and the strategic decision to pursue FDA clearance for software-based therapies rather than classifying the hardware as a medical device.

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 08m

    Sipping Coulombs

    Dave Jones of EEVblog and Chris Gammell of Contextual Electronics discuss the business realities of hardware, including the bankruptcy of Chip Board and the supply chain constraints facing Jones's own multimeter production. They analyze the economics of low-cost single-board computers like Raspberry Pi and the challenges of designing for long battery life, using a hypothetical keychain device to illustrate power budgeting with primary lithium cells and BLE. The conversation also covers the culture of Defcon badges, debunking pseudoscientific wireless charging claims, and the importance of validating product requirements early.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 00m

    39: I Blame Space

    Jen Costillo, Director of Engineering at Bia Sport, discusses the challenges of shipping a GPS sports watch designed for women, including the decision to separate the GPS and GSM modem into a detachable 'Ghost Stick' to keep the watch slim. She details the hardware struggles of an underfunded startup, such as corrosion from saltwater exposure and the lack of discrete pull-up resistors on the PCB, which complicated firmware debugging. Costillo also explains the difference between casual activity trackers and serious sports wearables, emphasizing the need for ruggedness and safety features like SOS alerts.

  • The Amp Hour · 58m

    Shiny New Pebble with Eric Migicovsky

    Eric Migicovsky, founder of the original Pebble and CEO of CoreDevices, discusses the relaunch of Pebble and the development of the Index 01 smart ring. He contrasts the early days of Pebble—where he made costly mistakes like designing custom Bluetooth hardware instead of using modules—with the modern ease of finding factories and using off-the-shelf components like the Sifly chip for the new watch. Migicovsky explains the design philosophy behind the Index 01, which prioritizes a two-year battery life and 100% reliability over health tracking, using a Dialog Semiconductor chip to achieve its 'external brain RAM' function.

  • The Amp Hour · 1h 14m

    An Interview with Colin Karpfinger - Blendling Bean Brio

    Colin Karpfinger, founder of Punch Through Design, discusses the development and commercialization of the Light Blue Bean, a coin-cell powered Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) development board. He details the engineering challenges of low-power firmware, the strategic decision to use the TI CC2540 chipset, and the complexities of FCC certification. Karpfinger also explains their custom crowdfunding campaign that raised nearly $200,000, the manufacturing process involving a Korean factory, and the company's evolution from a consulting firm to a product-based business with 13 employees.

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 06m

    278: Bricks' Batteries Last Forever

    Matt Liberty, founder of Jet Perch, discusses the challenges of measuring ultra-low power consumption in embedded systems and introduces his new tool, Joulescope, designed to solve dynamic range issues. He explains how software strategies like clock gating and GPIO state management, alongside hardware choices like shunt resistors and isolation, are critical for extending battery life. The conversation covers the technical pitfalls of traditional multimeters and the importance of accurate measurement in achieving nanoamp-level sleep states.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Coredump Sessions. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.