A pillow to the face is a good way to silence the snorer you sleep with. Unless you’re the snorer. In that case you’d probably prefer to share a bed with Jukusui-kun, a robot polar bear that doubles as an intelligent pillow, gently waking you by tickling your face so you’ll roll onto your side.
Developed by Wasaeda Univeristy’s Kabe Lab, and demonstrated at the International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo, Jukusui-kun, which translates to “deep sleep”, doesn’t just listen to how loud someone is snoring. As it’s designed to be a serious tool to help those suffering from sleep apnea, the user also wears a pulse oxygen meter on their hand, which sends readings to a terminal monitoring their vital signs.
When their oxygen level drops, indicating they’re having a hard time breathing, the polar bear’s arm reaches over and gently tickles their face, causing them to subconsciously roll on to their side where it’s easier to breathe while sleeping.
I’m assuming the use of an adorable polar bear is also strategic, as it makes it harder for those who really don’t like being disturbed in the middle of the night to simply tear the bear’s head off. It wouldn’t stop me, but I’d probably be happy with just forcefully removing its arm after the first tickle.