Nintendo Partners with Sleep Experts for a Non-Wearable Sleep Tracker


NintendoSleepTrackerNintendo, although one of the most popular game companies of all time, needs some encouragement every once in a while. The franchise has had a rough few years, its Nintendo Wii U wasn't nearly as successful as it hoped, and overall earnings have been stagnant. Luckily, recently reported Q2 earnings turned out to be encouraging for the first time in 4 years. Now, in efforts to expand into new areas of business, Nintendo is working on something brand new. Chief Executive Satoru Iwata just announced a device to go along with the company's new healthcare division. The U.S.'s very own ResMed Inc., sleep disorder medical equipment developer, will be partnering with Nintendo to make the device, a sleep tracker that uses radio waves to monitor the user's activity during slumber.

NintendoSleepTracker1On its path of “redefining entertainment”, Nintendo wants to take the company to different places in the coming years. One way of getting there is the visualization of sleep and fatigue, particularly finding ways to improve the quality of sleep through sensing technology. The described QOL Sensor is a “non-contact radio frequency sensor, which measures such things as the movements of your body, breathing, and heartbeat, all without physically touching your body”, says Iwata. The “non-wearable” aspect is what sets this product apart of existing sleep sensors. Once it's morning, the user can look at feedback, transmitted to cloud servers and represented in sets of graphs, which will advise methods to improve diet and life habits. It will perform all these tasks while sitting on your bedside table.

NintendoSleepTracker2In order to examine an ailment that isn't considered a disease in the medical world, Nintendo is working with cutting-edge research scientists who are working on the science of fatigue. One of ResMed's experts, Dr. Yasuyoshi Watanabe, says this will be the world's first product of its kind. For a company who has long been interested in products that contribute to the well being of their customers, this sleep sensor will surely surpass the likes of the Wii Fit game. Nintendo expects the “non-wearable” device to be available before the end of March 2016.

Topics: Technology News Gadgets & Peripherals Inventions & Innovations Storage & Cloud

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