Ford ‘Max Motor Dreams’ baby crib simulates riding in a car

Ford has a plan to help your baby sleep soundly without those annoying late-night trips in the minivan to induce unconsciousness. Say hello to the Max Motor Dreams – a baby crib with built-in speakers, LED lighting, and a motion-enabled mattress that the automaker says can mimic the exact car rides that put baby to sleep.

The crib was designed by Alejandro López Bravo at the Spanish creative studio Espada y Santa Cruz. It's more than just a motorized, light-up cot, however. It works in conjunction with a smartphone app that can record sounds, distance, and movement of a particular baby-approved sleep route. The information is sent to the crib, which then mimics the route.

A speaker mounted in the base of the crib delivers muted engine and road noise, while orange LED lights at the top simulate 360-degree motion to recreate passing street lamps. Motorized actuators use the motion information captured by the smartphone to gently rock baby up simulated hills and around corners.

Presumably it doesn't record loud exhaust sounds or mimic high-G cornering, which by the way, shame on you for thinking such things in an article about helping babies and parents sleep better. Actually it's okay – we were thinking it too.

Now you're probably thinking about how much something like this costs, especially if you have a little bundle of joy that loves to get crazy in the wee hours of the morning. Unfortunately, we have nothing to offer since this is technically a concept that's still in-process. Considering the technology involved – and considering it says Ford on the side, figure it won't be cheap. But it is a novel approach to something that has undeniably helped kids to sleep since the first cars hit the road. Now perhaps the parents can get some sleep too.