LG Electronics Inc. announced today that it’s working with the South Korean sleep technology startup Asleep Inc. on a range of smart home appliances that can detect when users are asleep and adjust their settings accordingly.

The Korea Economic Daily revealed that LG has signed a memorandum of understanding with Asleep to cooperate into research on sleep technology.

Asleep has created artificial intelligence-powered technology that it says can diagnose someone’s sleep stage based on the sound of their breathing alone. The tech is said to be able to distinguish between four stages of sleep — wake, light, deep and rapid eye movement sleep — using any device that’s equipped with a microphone, including smartphones, smart TVs or smart speakers. Its technology can be installed on multiple kinds of devices, and the advantage is that users don’t have to wear some kind of specialist equipment to monitor their quality of sleep.

LG said the aim of the partnership with Asleep is to research and develop products that integrate with its sleep diagnosis technology so they can operate in optimal mode. It also wants to provide customized services based on people’s sleep conditions and patterns.

For instance, if the user is detected to be in a deep sleep, the bedroom air purifier can be switched to sleep mode, while the air conditioner can be adjusted to the optimal temperature to ensure that person gets a good rest. In addition, if the laundry is finished while the person has fallen asleep, the washing machine can switch to the “laundry care after finish” function on its own.

Asleep said its sleep diagnosis technology can be integrated into appliances using its Sleeptrack application programming interface, which will be exhibited at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next month. There, LG and Asleep will exhibit a “smart bedroom” environment with multiple applications of the technology.

“We expect that combining Asleep’s technology with LG Electronics premium home appliances will create a human-centered residential environment from bedrooms to living rooms,” said Asleep Chief Executive Lee Dong-heon.

The companies may be onto something as it’s well known that South Korea is one of the most sleep-deprived nations among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development nations. It’s a problem that may be getting worse, too. The Korea Economic Daily said that according to data from Korea’s National Health Insurance Service, around 670,000 Koreans sought treatment for sleep disorders in 2021, up 35% from 495,500 in 2016.

Photo: senivpetro/Freepik