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Mobile computers don't normally hide on purpose, but Clocky does...

Tonight's the night Europeans get an hour less sleep, as the clocks go forward. Trouble getting out of bed? The technology solution could be "Clocky" - invented at MIT's Media Lab. It's an alarm clock with an attitude problem, and a way of imposing that attitude on you.

The normal solution to the problem of waking up with a personality transplant (last night you were gung-ho for an early start, but this morning, you're not even slightly interested in the new day!) is to put a mouse-trap on the "snooze" button of the alarm.

MIT media lab researcher Gauri Nanda found this wasn't good enough - or maybe, was running out of fingers. So the new solution is a mobile, robotic alarm clock.

Normal sleep-mania sufferers find that they can honestly turn the alarm off in their sleep. Even if they hide it in a tin box under the bed, the process of getting up, getting the clock, opening the box, and switching the clock off (a sledge-hammer is the usual tool) can be done without reaching consciousness.

Clocky can't be treated like that, because Clocky runs away, and hides.

"In designing Clocky, I was in part inspired by kittens I've had," confesses Nanda. "They would bite my toes every morning."

Clocky is, whatever Nanda says, less cute than a kitten. Paraphrasing somewhat: "It's less an annoying device, more a troublesome pet that you love anyway. It's also a bit ugly. But its unconventional look keeps the user calm, and inspires laughter at one of the most hated times of the day."

When the alarm clock goes off and the snooze button is pressed, Clocky will roll off the bedside table and wheel away, bumping mindlessly into objects on the floor until it eventually finds a spot to rest. Minutes later, when the alarm sounds again, the sleeper must get up out of bed and search for Clocky.

This ensures that the person is fully awake before turning it off. "Small wheels that are concealed by Clocky's shag enable it to move and reposition itself, and an internal processor helps it find a new hiding spot every day," says Nanda.

All very well; but how does Clocky solve the problem of getting the window fixed after you hurl the thing through it in your rage?