Is Amazon Developing a Sleep Apnea Tracker? Here's What We Know So Far

Amazon, one of the world's tech giants, is reportedly working on a new Alexa-enabled device that can help detect and track sleep apnea, a potentially dangerous sleeping disorder.

Amazon's Sleep Apnea Tracker

According to Business Insider, the device is small, around the size of your palm, and will not require any contact as you can place it on your nightstand and it will work as a contactless sleep apnea tracker, based on what their sources said, who are people familiar with the device.

A prototype is reportedly being developed, which looks like a standing hexagonal pad, according to one of the sources.

The tool has been internally codenamed "Brahms," which they believe is in reference to the German composer Johannes Brahms, who is well-known for composing "Lullaby," and who some experts believe to have suffered from sleep apnea himself.

Brahms will be mainly using a millimeter-wave radar that can track the user's sleeping and breathing patterns.

Subtleties in the user's movements that are attributed to sleep apnea will also be detected.

What We Know So Far

Little is known about the device, but people familiar with the matter said that it will most likely connect to other devices, specifically smartphones, and will have a dedicated app where users can track their breathing patterns while they are sleeping.

Moreover, it may also send notifications through the app in case it has detected that the user has stopped breathing due to his or her condition.

According to The Verge, it seems like the company is planning to use cloud technology and machine learning to help understand more sleep disorders besides sleep apnea, and it also seems like the company has grown its team focusing on the sleep tracking device over the past year.

Furthermore, Business Insider has also seen an internal document stating that the company is expanding its scope to bring cloud and application-development in-house.

This is compared to when they were relying on external teams within Amazon.

Nevertheless, it is unclear when the device will be launched, and when the news outlet reached out to Amazon, the company did not comment.

The Growing Sleep-Tracking Industry

If it does launch, the company is set to face against an industry of sleep-tracking devices, and it's also not the first time radar is being used to track sleeping patterns since it has been around for years.

For example, Nintendo had announced a "non-wearable" device back in 2014 that could help people track their sleep through radio waves.

However, the company later said that they are unsure whether the device would be a viable product, so it ended up never being released to the public.

Moreover, OnePlus has also announced a concept phone they are developing that will be using mmWave radar to help monitor user's breathing, and with big companies like Apple, Samsung, and even Xiaomi acquiring startup companies that focus on sleep-tracking and health, Amazon's upcoming Alexa-enabled device might face tough competition.

Nevertheless, it's really not that surprising, especially as 360 Research Reports rather recently said that the global market for sleep-tracking devices will reach $43.5 billion in size by 2026.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by: Nhx Tingson