A significant concern of the coronavirus pandemic is hospital overcrowding. The strain on limited physical capacity can cause patients to be turned away or placed in uncomfortable accommodations; in addition, hospital staff and patients who don't have COVID are at increased risk of catching the disease if protective equipment and isolation measures cannot be reinforced. One inventor is hoping to alleviate these issues with two patent applications filed in June of 2020 for a capsule sleeping pod apparatus. The first application describes the sleeping pod, which includes an anti-microbial lining and UV light to disinfect the interior. The second specifies a ventilation system with three separate airflows to keep the internal and external environments safe. The patent applications include claims for usage in medical facilities as well as homeless shelters. 

Sleep pods are a fairly sparse space, with most patent applications being filed by individual inventors. As concerns about social distancing and shared spaces continue, isolated sleep environments combined with existing controls of light, sound, and temperature may become a larger area for innovation. You can keep up with environmental control and other consumer sleep developments on the Magic Number® Patent Radian®.