The Anti-Snoring Polar Bear Pillow

Sleep apnea affects two million people in Japan, so it’s no surprise that Dr. Kade and a team of researchers from Tokyo’s Waseda University developed the world’s first anti-snoring robot. Thankfully, the robot is designed to resemble a stuffed polar bear and is named Jukusui-Kun (meaning “deep sleep”). The polar bear is meant to be used as a pillow by the snorer and comes with a smaller polar bear equipped with a sensor that attaches to the sleeper’s hand to monitor oxygen levels in the blood, while a microphone int he larger polar bear pillow records noise levels. The bears are wirelessly connected to a system that analyzes the data being gathered. When the oxygen levels decrease and the noise levels increase at the same time, the polar bear pillow is triggered to move it’s “paw” across the sleeper’s face, causing the sleeper to turn over without waking up.