Awaken the artist within

Technology • Call it the Picasso of the pillow.

Accor Group, the world’s largest hotel operator, is rolling out a “sleep art” app at its Ibis budget chain of inns.

Here’s how it works: smartphone users fire up the free app and then use their iPhones as a mattress sensor to capture movements and sounds during slumber. The data is then transformed overnight into a virtual artwork.

The sleep art is stored in a gallery so that hotel guests can compare their somnambulant sketchings on a daily basis and even share the results through social media or e-mail.

“Happy sleep is the core promise of Accor’s economy hotel brands,” a spokesman said.