It takes a stronger person than me to actually get out of bed when the alarm goes off — after all, that snooze button is so conveniently located. But if the alarm didn’t stop until I was out of bed, there’s a chance I could actually eat breakfast one of these days.
That’s the idea behind Ruggie, a pressure-sensitive alarm clock that lives on your floor and only turns off when you stand on it. It looks pretty much like a regular lamp, apart from the small display in the corner. Power comes from three AA batteries that apparently last a full year, while you hook it up to a computer to set the alarm and customise features.
It’s currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, where $110 snags you an early-bird version. As ever, buyer beware on crowdfunding websites, although there’s no danger of Ruggie being underfunded: they’re at over $US100,000 in a week, with a good 50 days still to go.