The Somnox Sleep Robot is a capsule-shaped robot that claims to enhance quality of
sleep
Sleep is a state of reduced mental and physical activity in which consciousness is altered and certain Sensory nervous system, sensory activity is inhibited. During sleep, there is a marked decrease in muscle activity and interactions with th ...
.
The capsule "breathes" in and out according to a fixed rhythm.
The company claims that by subconsciously matching their breathing to it, people will be helped to fall asleep.
Description
The robot is a heavy, kidney-shaped white capsule with a soft fabric shell.
It can be controlled with a smartphone through a
companion app
A second screen involves the use of a secondary computing device to provide a different viewing experience for content on another device. The term commonly refers to the use of such devices to provide interactive features, like posts on social me ...
.
In addition to breathing, it also plays customizable audio.
History
The robot began prototyping in 2015 at the
Delft University of Technology
The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft; ) is the oldest and largest Dutch public university, public Institute of technology, technical university, located in Delft, Netherlands. It specializes in engineering, technology, computing, design, a ...
in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
It was originally made by four robotics engineers there to help themselves and their families fall asleep, and to help wean one of the designer's mothers suffering from anxiety and insomnia off of sleep medication.
The decision was made to commercialize it after it received interest from strangers.
It was released on
Kickstarter
Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
in November 2017, raising about twice its funding goal of ().
Somnox launched a second version of their product line in November 2021, with
WiFi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
and
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is li ...
support as well as an improved
spirometry
Spirometry (meaning ''the measuring of breath'') is the most common of the pulmonary function tests (PFTs). It measures lung function, specifically the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. Spirometry is h ...
algorithm.
See also
*
Sleep disorder
A sleep disorder, or somnipathy, is a medical disorder affecting an individual's sleep patterns, sometimes impacting physical, mental, social, and emotional functioning. Polysomnography and actigraphy are tests commonly ordered for diagnosing sle ...
*
Sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene is a behavioral and environmental practice developed in the late 1970s as a method to help people with mild to moderate insomnia. Clinicians assess the sleep hygiene of people with insomnia and other conditions, such as depressio ...
*
White noise machine
References
{{reflist
Medical robots
Sleep medicine
Robots of the Netherlands