Korean sleep tech startup Asleep to expand ties with Evezary to offer smart pill

[Courtesy of Asleep]

South Korean sleep tech startup Asleep Inc., known for its artificial intelligence (AI) solution that measures snoring and sleep apnea, plans to expand its partnership with traditional bedding company Evezary Co. by offering AI-based sleep monitoring solutions to a wider range of products.

“Starting with the application of AI sleep monitoring technology to Evezary pillows, we are discussing expanding the scope of application to other products such as comforters,” Asleep said on Monday.

According to Cho Eun-ja, deputy director at Evezary’s sleep environment research center, Asleep’s smart alarm service, for example, detects sleep patterns to improve sleep quality and wakes people up.

The partnership is the first of its kind in the industry. Asleep also plans to pursue collaborations with other bedding companies.

The rapid development of AI sleep monitoring technology is expected to open up the era of at-home sleep testing as traditional bedding companies work with sleep tech companies to create and launch smart pillows and mattresses.

The industry projects that the ties will allow tests available only at specialized institutions, such as polysomnography, to be performed at home.

Polysomnography is a test in which a specialist assesses sleep quality by tracking brain waves, blood oxygen levels, breathing, heart rate, and eye and arm movements in a sleep laboratory or hospital.

Consumers, however, will be able to use their own bedding products linked to AI sleep monitoring software to check their sleep status and manage sleep health via a smartphone app.

“Bedding and bed products will become more electronic as sleep measurement technology is incorporated into not only pillows, mattresses, and comforters, but also into bed frames, headboards,” said a bedding industry official.

Mattresses are already being equipped with AI-powered sleep tech. Sleep brand 3boon1 has launched Sleep Cube, a smart mattress that uses AI technology to provide the optimal temperature for sleep. When lying down on the bed, the mattress’s sleep sensor measures breathing rate to determine the user’s sleep state and provides the optimal sleep temperature.

It automatically adjusts the user’s body temperature between 20 and 40 degrees depending on the sleep stage to improve sleep quality and efficiency.

Some companies are advancing into the market with their own AI pillows, like Ten Minds, an AI-based anti-snoring pillow company that has won three consecutive innovation awards at the International Consumer Electronics Show in the United States.

Its Motion Pillow, launched in November last year, uses AI to respond to the sound of snoring by slowly inflating a built-in airbag that rotates the head to clear the airway and relieve snoring.

The company entered Korea’s first pillow rental business in April in partnership with LG HelloVision Corp. and plans to launch an ultra-personalized app service linked to pillows later this year or early next year,

“We are preparing an app service that provides a sleep health analysis chart when you use an AI sleep pillow, just like in-body results,” said an official from Ten Minds.