A recent post published on the NeoGAF forum sheds light on a possible patent from Nintendo. The patent describes a sleep-tracking device which looks similar to an alarm clock. The patent surfaced just nine months after the video game console maker announced plans to create a bedside device measuring fatigue and sleep.
Nintendo’s sleep device technology
Nintendo’s late CEO, Satoru Iwata, shared a photo of the device which reportedly used microwave transmission sensors to obtain data and recommend sleep habits. The device was dubbed the S+ and could include a bedside monitor, smartphone app and web app. It could also come packed with other sensors for measuring pulse rate, temperature and biometrics.
The Quality of Life initiative
Iwata said his company can launch a new product if they believe they will be able to create a large market but declined to disclose details or prices. The device is part of the Quality of Life initiative, a foray into the health tech industry. The device was rumored to launch in early 2016. The QOL initiative was introduced in early 2014 when Iwata revealed the possibility of non-wearable technologies.
The document was written in Japanese, but the abstract was in English and described the technology a “[an] Information processing system [that] detects sensor information for assessing a user’s information. It would be permissible, as an example, for the sensor information to be sound information which is detected by a microphone, or image information which is captured by a camera.”
The patent may or may not result in a sleep monitor device. If the device ever launches, the end product could be very different. Iwata previously stated that the new initiative would be separate from Nintendo’s gaming division but that they would use the same experience and knowledge to market the product.
