;Finally – something is being released by someone that’s similar to an unrealized project I worked on while at Bose. Bose has long since said farewell to it’s audio health department as it was formulated and now I think licenses technology for hearing aids and noise cancellation – they ended the Sleepbuds program and sold the technology to Ozlo – a collection of ex-Bose employees I had the privledge of working with.
Anyway, the product is from Anker and its called the Anker Soundcore Sleeplabs Pro – using radar to detect breathing rhythm, using light for sleep entrainment (ours used audio to do the exact same thing). There is nothing to wear (uses radar like our prototype did), nothing to charge (you plug it in bedside), and no phone is required (but can improve the experience).
I have a Phillips wakeup light that I use in conjunction with an original Apple Homepod and iPhone in Standby mode on a bedside stand. I also have a Hatch Sleep wakeup light. This looks the most like my Hatch – which I do enjoy – and can use normally without a subscription. The radar in this however allows it to track my sleep (in addition to my Fitbit Air band which I always wear). I do not wear my Apple Watch Ultra 2 any longer as I find it uncomfortable at night and a distraction still during the day. I like my mechanical watches.
So this is not a pressing need, but I am VERY curious. The industrial design looks quite nice. The wakeup light looks large enough and its semi-directional. It looks large enough that it can also potentially replace a nightstand lamp, reducing clutter there.
The price is $269 with the radar, and $100 less ($169) for the version without it. Its expensive. I have Anker power banks and cables and they are of high quality. This should be no different. I am going to reserve this for $1. I normally sleep with a fan (for movement of air and sound) as well as ocean sounds looped on the HomePod, but since the radar is detecting breathing and snoring from vibrations – it should still work perfectly well in mu fairly complicated setup.
I am just excited that the research we did showing the effectiveness of breathing entrainment while falling asleep and the use of radar (I can’t say where we were sourcing ours, but it was deadly accurate even at a greater distance than this – and years ago) – its kind of like I’ll get to use the device we were designing and testing but was never realized. So this is a gift to myself – to my health and to my professional curiosity.
Thank you Anker.