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

- Show: [Coredump Sessions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions)
- Published: 2025-11-26
- Length: 58m
- Episode: 19
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability
- Listen: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/memfault/episodes/018-The-Hidden-Complexity-of-Sleep-Tech-Power--Comfort--and-8-Hours-of-Reliability-e3bgoe0

## Summary

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.

## Chapters

- [0:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=2) Introduction: Charlie Taylor and Ozlo Sleep
- [6:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=373) The Origin Story: Reviving Bose Sleepbuds
- [15:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=933) Hardware Challenges: Miniaturization and Power
- [23:16](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=1396) Sensing and Health Data from the Ear
- [26:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=1578) Real-World Testing and Bluetooth Edge Cases
- [33:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=2014) Firmware as the Core Product
- [45:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=2738) FDA Strategy: Software as a Medical Device
- [55:17](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability#t=3317) Customer Feedback and Prioritization

## Topics

- [Embedded firmware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/embedded-firmware)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Certification & compliance](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/certification-and-compliance)
- [Sensors & measurement in products](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sensors)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Ozlo Sleep (company)
- Bose (company)
- AirPods (product)
- Kickstarter (other)
- Memfault (company)
- Nordic Semiconductors (company)
- Pebble (company)
- FDA (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Sipping Coulombs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2018-04-23-sipping-coulombs) (The Amp Hour)
- [39: I Blame Space](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-02-19-39-i-blame-space) (Embedded.fm)
- [Shiny New Pebble with Eric Migicovsky](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2026-02-10-shiny-new-pebble-with-eric-migicovsky) (The Amp Hour)
- [An Interview with Colin Karpfinger - Blendling Bean Brio](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2014-12-04-an-interview-with-colin-karpfinger-blendling-bean-brio) (The Amp Hour)
- [278: Bricks' Batteries Last Forever](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2019-02-15-278-bricks-batteries-last-forever) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/coredump-sessions/2025-11-26-018-the-hidden-complexity-of-sleep-tech-power-comfort-and-8-hours-of-reliability. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Coredump Sessions.