Bedtime routines for parents and toddlers take many forms, typically focused on creating soothing and familiar sounds and experiences. This is the environment that You&Me Star helps to create through a combination of sound, light and touch. Developed by Chicco, Artsana Group, in collaboration with students from La Sapienza University of Rome, You&Me Star is a night light built to do something more than simply light a room. It turns bedtime into a ritual of relaxation, play, and emotional connection. The idea started during the Final Synthesis Course in Product Design at La Sapienza, taught by Professor Sabrina Lucibello and myself, a course built specifically to push academic thinking into manufacturing reality. The project represents a synergy between the academic and manufacturing worlds, an experience I am particularly proud of because it ultimately led to a tangible, finished product. Students Luca Montanaro, Fabio Mattei, Leonardo Marongiu, and Paolo Maurizi took the question and split it in two: what sounds does a baby remember from before birth, and what does a baby need to feel safe enough to stop fighting sleep? Their research followed auditory memory down one path and light down the other. The first question was fascinating; could sounds experienced before birth become part of a baby's auditory memory? Research into prenatal auditory perception suggests that fetuses can respond to sounds and melodies during pregnancy, and that familiar sounds may elicit recognizable responses after birth. The students saw an opening- sound as a bridge between the world before birth and the one after it. The second thread concerned the role of light in the transition to sleep. Studies of circadian rhythms have shown that light wavelengths matter enormously to melatonin production, the hormone that governs when we sleep and when we wake. The longer wavelength of red light has drawn attention as a gentler alternative to the blue-heavy glow of most evening lighting, one less

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