You don't normally hear about furniture in the same conversation as biotech, with maybe the exception of some sleep technology. A San Francisco-based furniture startup, Coddle, may be here to change that.

Founded in 2018, Coddle is designing "smart" furniture that focuses on small space efficiency, de-cluttering, and the growth of the digital era. The company's flagship product is the Toggle Convertible Couch, which offers 16 positions, layers of memory foam, and built-in USB ports to act as both a couch and a bed.

A recently published patent application suggests that Coddle may be developing a couch that automatically adjusts to users based on their body. It teaches using biometric sensor data received from an integrated stationary unit to generate user-specific wellness mappings and then to automatically adjust one or more components of the stationary unit. The application illustrates sensors and balloons in the couch which correspond to the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar regions of the body.

Pretty soon, we may not even need a remote to control smart beds, whether we are sleeping or just relaxing.