Google Nest Hub’s Upgraded Sleep Sensors Will Uncover Who is Snoring in Your Bed
Google has upgraded the sleep tracker built into the second-generation Nest Hub smart display to better chart a user’s sleep by radar and sound. The upgrade enables the smart display to discern who in the bed is snoring, coughing, or making other noise at night.
Nest Sleep
Google introduced the latest version of the Nest Hub in March, touting several improvements from the earlier device. The company highlighted the new Sleep Sensing system as a technical feat that would help people get a better night’s rest. The feature uses Google’s Soli low-energy radar technology to track a sleeper’s movement and breathing. This data is combined with audio, visual, and temperature changes charted overnight to create a complete picture of the user’s sleeping patterns. Google processes the information to produce advice on getting a better night’s sleep, such as personalized bedtime schedules and other tips.
The upgraded version of the feature dives into more detail using better algorithms to chart time spent in different sleep stages. The improved audio algorithms help keep the tracking focused when more than one person is in bed. The Nest Hub filters out snores and other sounds outside of the space where the user lay while calibrating the system. That way, a significant other’s restless night won’t warp the data collected by the smart display.
“Our improved algorithms mean you get even more details about your sleep. Combining your sleep information with disturbance events can help you better understand what’s happening while you’re sleeping,” Google Nest product manager Ashton Udall explained in a blog post. “For those who share their sleeping space with others — partners or pets — now your display will only show coughs and snores that come from your calibrated sleeping area. Any coughing and snoring that happens outside of your area will appear on the new “Other sounds” timeline. This new timeline will also show other loud noises.”
Google developed the sleep analysis feature after seeing data showing that at least 20% of Nest Hub owners keep it next to their beds. The feature is free through 2022 but will become part of the $10 a month Fitbit Premium subscription service in 2023. Radar for healthcare is starting to spread, as evidenced by the FCC approving the same concept for Amazon to install in its devices in July.
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